Farming Simulator 19 is free on the Epic Games Store

(Image credit: Focus Home Interactive)

Farming Simulator 19, a game about working the fields for people who want to enjoy the rugged outdoor life without actually having to leave their room, is now free on the Epic Games Store. You'll establish and expand modern farms in the US and Europe, with an exciting array of more than 300 machines from exciting top-tier manufacturers including Case IH, New Holland, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Krone, and Deutz-Fahr.

I get a little zing out of poking fun at Farming Simulator, but I also very much enjoy the fact that the Farming Sim series has carved such an enduring niche for itself. I wasn't terribly impressed with a version I reviewed several years ago, but there's a real audience for these games, and even a small but vibrant pro esports league.

It's also pretty good meme fodder.

Farming Simulator 19 is free on the Epic Games Store until 11 am ET on February 2. After that, it appears that a trio of Asmodee Digital games will take its place: Carcassonne, an adaptation of a "classic tile-placement" board game; Ticket to Ride, another board game-to-videogame translation, this one about trains; and Pandemic, a game about a "elite disease control team" seeking to prevent the spread of four deadly diseases that threaten to annihilate humanity.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.