Yes, For Honor is still running, and it's free to play for a week

Remember For Honor, Ubisoft's vikings-vs-knights-vs-samurai multiplayer melee game? It's been some time since we last gave it a look, but here are a couple of things about it that you might find useful today: One, yes it is still running (and has actually added a pair of additional factions, the Wu Lin and Outlanders), and two, it's free to play for a week.

For Honor is a hell of a thing. It was revealed in 2015, seemed reasonably good when it launched in 2017, and very quickly tanked. Six months after it launched, we took an in-depth look at where it all went wrong: It wasn't quite a eulogy but it was awfully close, noting that even though Ubisoft was making an effort to turn things around, the game had taken such a battering by that point that "it might already be too late" to save it.

And yet that's exactly what happened. Six years later, For Honor's average concurrent player count on Steam alone bounces around the 3,000 mark, which isn't bad for a game this age and only part of the total: For Honor is also on Epic Games Store, Ubisoft, and consoles. It's a nice comeback story, and a modest but much-needed bright spot for Ubisoft.

Which brings us to the point. For Honor is having a free week, which actually began yesterday (July 27) and runs until August 3. The free week covers the full game and is available on all platforms and PC storefronts worldwide, with a handful of unfortunate exceptions that vary by platform.

If you have an especially good time bashing skulls and smashing faces and want to carry on with your brutish behavior past the free week, you can also pick up For Honor on the cheap right now: It's on sale for 80% off on all editions on Steam and Epic.

Andy Chalk

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.