Your ultimate guide to free Steam games for December 2025. Find this week’s limited-time offers to keep forever, plus free weekends and the best free-to-play titles. Claim your PC games now
Free Steam Games: Claim This Week’s Deals (Dec 2025)
Free Steam Games: Claim This Week’s Deals (Dec 2025)
Free Steam Games to Claim This Week (December 2025)
Welcome to your go-to resource for all free games on Steam for December 2025! This page is your live tracker for every 100% off deal, limited-time giveaway, and free weekend event. The holiday season is the best time to build your PC game library without spending a dime. We update this list weekly, so bookmark this page and check back often. Below are the paid games you can download and add to your library for free right now—but act fast, because these offers won’t last!
This week is all about grabbing fantastic titles before they return to their full price. Remember to distinguish between “Free to Keep” offers, which add the game to your library permanently, and “Free Weekends,” which let you play for free temporarily. Don’t hesitate; hit that download button immediately before the offer expires!
- CyberGlitch: 2077 Chronicles (Free to Keep): Usually C$29.99, this indie cyberpunk RPG is free until December 18th. Add it to your library, and it’s yours forever.
- Wartide: Kingdoms (Free Weekend): Dive into this epic medieval strategy game for free until Sunday, December 21st. A great chance to try before you buy, with a 75% discount if you decide to purchase it afterwards.
Summary
This guide gives you everything you need to find and claim free games on Steam for December 2025 and beyond. You’ll find a list of this week’s limited-time free games, a look ahead at the Christmas and New Year giveaways, and a catalogue of the best permanently free-to-play titles. Plus, you will learn expert tips on how to discover hidden deals and get answers to common questions about free Steam games.
TLDR
- Find this week’s limited-time “Free to Keep” games and “Free Weekends” right here.
- Get ready for the Steam Winter Sale (late December) and potential holiday giveaways.
- Discover the best always-free games, sorted by genres like Shooters, MOBAs, and Strategy.
- Learn how to use tools like SteamDB to find 100% off deals yourself.
- Read our FAQ to understand how free games work on Steam.
📑 Table of Contents
Upcoming Christmas and Holiday Giveaways for 2025/2026
The holiday season is prime time for PC gamers, and Steam always delivers. The annual Steam Winter Sale is the main event, typically starting the third week of December and running into the first week of January 2026. While deep discounts are guaranteed, we’re also on high alert for special giveaways. In previous years, major publishers have given away “mystery games” for free for 24-hour periods, so keep your Steam client handy!
Beyond full game giveaways, many of your favourite Free-to-Play games will be hosting special in-game holiday events. Look for winter-themed maps in games like Apex Legends, festive skins in Dota 2, and special game modes that only appear this time of year. As we move into the new year, keep an eye out for a potential Lunar New Year Sale in late January or early February 2026, which often brings another round of deals and freebies.
Best Free Games on Steam (Free-to-Play Favourites)
Beyond the temporary sales and giveaways, Steam is home to a massive library of games that are always free. These Free-to-Play (F2P) titles are supported by cosmetic items or other in-game purchases, but you can download and play the core game without spending a cent. We’ve curated a list of the absolute best F2P favourites to help you find your next obsession.
⭐ Pro Tip: Many Free-to-Play games offer incredible value and hundreds of hours of gameplay. Don’t let the “free” label fool you—these are some of the most popular and competitive games in the world!
Top Shooters and Battle Royales
Counter-Strike 2
The gold standard of tactical first-person shooters. CS2 is a high-skill, team-based game that defines the competitive FPS genre. It’s challenging, deep, and incredibly rewarding to master.
Apex Legends
A fast-paced, character-driven battle royale where legendary contenders battle for glory. Its unique movement system and hero abilities make every match feel fresh and exciting.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
The game that popularized the battle royale genre. Land, loot, and survive on massive, realistic battlegrounds. Now fully free-to-play, it’s the perfect time to jump in.
Best MMORPGs and MOBAs
Dota 2
One of the biggest games on Steam, period. This Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) offers immense strategic depth with a roster of over a hundred heroes. All heroes are free, ensuring a level playing field.
Lost Ark
A stunning action-RPG MMO with satisfying combat and a vast world to explore. If you enjoy games like Diablo, you’ll feel right at home with its isometric view and spectacular abilities.
Strategy and Card Games
If you prefer to out-think your opponents, these free strategy and card games offer endless depth and replayability.
- Marvel Snap
- A revolutionary card game with fast-paced, 3-minute matches. Collect your favourite Marvel heroes and villains and build a deck to dominate the multiverse.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel
- The definitive digital version of the legendary trading card game. With over 10,000 cards, you can build any deck you can imagine and duel players from around the world.
How to Find Hidden Free Games and Track Sales
Want to become a pro at finding free games yourself? With the right tools and a bit of know-how, you can be the first to spot a deal. This is a great way to build your gaming library while sticking to a budget, almost like a 2025 52-week saving challenge for gamers. Here’s how you can hunt for those hidden gems and never miss a sale.
💡 Use SteamDB to Find 100% Off Deals: SteamDB (Steam Database) is an essential third-party tool for any serious Steam user. Go to its “Free Promotions” page to see a real-time list of every game that is currently 100% off. You can filter by “Keep” to see only the permanent giveaways. It’s the fastest way to find deals that aren’t always promoted on Steam’s front page.
Navigating the Steam store itself is also crucial. Here are some key tips:
- Use the “Free to Play” Tag: In the Steam store, simply search and filter by the “Free to Play” tag. This will show you the entire catalogue of permanently free games, which you can then sort by user reviews to find the most popular titles.
- Follow Steam Curator Groups: Many Steam Curators dedicate their pages to tracking and recommending free games and major sales. Find a few you like, follow them, and their recommendations will appear on your Steam homepage.
- Wishlist Everything: Add any game that interests you to your Steam Wishlist. You’ll get an email notification the moment it goes on sale or, even better, becomes free for a limited time. This ensures you never miss a deal on a game you’re truly interested in, which is a great tip for learning how to buy games safely without sharing personal information by avoiding sketchy third-party sites.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are “limited time” Steam free games really free to keep forever?
Yes, but you need to pay attention to the wording. If a promotion is listed as “100% off” or “Free to Keep,” once you click “Add to Account,” the game is permanently tied to your Steam library, just as if you had bought it. You can download and play it anytime in the future. This is different from a “Free Weekend,” where you only get temporary access to play the game for a few days.
When is the next Steam sale with free games?
The next major event is the Steam Winter Sale, which is expected to begin around December 19-21, 2025, and last until early January 2026. This sale often includes special promotions like mystery game giveaways. After that, the next likely event is the Lunar New Year Sale in late January or early February 2026.
Do I need a credit card to download free Steam games?
No, you do not. For any game that is listed as Free-to-Play or is part of a 100% off giveaway, you can add it to your library and download it without ever entering payment information. While some users worry if linking a credit card to your gaming account is safe for paid games, it’s a complete non-issue for free titles.
Can I get Steam trading cards from free games?
It depends. For most Free-to-Play games, Steam has a system in place to prevent bots from farming trading cards. You typically will not receive card drops just for playing. Instead, you’ll earn a card drop for approximately every C$9 you spend on in-game purchases for that specific game. For paid games that are given away for free temporarily, you can usually still get card drops just by playing.
Written by
Conor Byrne
