The Epic Mega Sale began yesterday, but nobody noticed because GTA5 crashed the store

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

At 11 am ET on May 14, Grand Theft Auto 5 went free on the Epic Games Store. At 11:01 am, the Epic Games Store went off a cliff, as untold numbers of gamers absolutely demolished the site trying to get their hands on what is probably the biggest Epic freebie yet. It took the rest of the day (and night) to get it sorted.

The giveaway was meant to kick off the Epic Mega Sale, but that went largely overlooked because we were all too busy watching GTA5 repeatedly kneecap the storefront. But with that now (hopefully) taken care of, Epic is sort of re-announcing the sale, and so I figured I'd bring it to your attention in case you missed it.

The Epic Mega Sale runs until June 11, and has discounts of up to 75 percent on games including Assassin's Creed Origins, Rainbow Six Siege, Borderlands 3, Hob (Hob is fantastic), Watch Dogs, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and a whole bunch of other stuff. There are also "Epic Coupons" for everyone, which are essentially $10 discounts that can be used on eligible games or add-ons of at least $15, or your local currency equivalent.

That means Control, for instance, is half-price—$30—and then you bump another tenner off that at checkout, dropping it to $20—a really good price for my favorite third-person shooter since Max Payne 2. Each time you use a coupon, you get a new one, so it's basically a running discount for the duration of the sale.

The free game giveaways will also continue through the duration of the sale, and it's possible the free entertainment will as well: The Grand Theft Auto 5 freebie was teased last week as a mystery game, and the next one will also be a surprise. Red Dead Redemption 2, maybe? Almost certainly not, but if it does turn out to be another big one when the curtain goes up, look out.

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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.