This weekend the free stuff is on Xbox. Riders Republic is open to everyone until Monday 26 October, no Game Pass needed, because Ubisoft's extreme sports sandbox just turned five. Game Pass members also get the whole of Dying Light 2 Stay Human, Tropico 6 and Let's Build a Zoo until Sunday 25 October, and Dying Light 2 is 80% off if you want to keep it. Steam has no free weekend this time: no Free Weekend banner on the store front and no "Play for free" block on the pages we checked.
Riders Republic: free for every Xbox player until Monday
Xbox Wire lists it as free to try for all Xbox players from 22 to 26 October, and Ubisoft gives the same dates for its anniversary Free Weekend. Nobody names the exact hour it closes, so don't leave your last session for Monday evening. It's the full open world (bikes, skis, snowboards, wingsuits) rather than a cut-down demo, and there's a reason to log in this week in particular.
- Progress. Ubisoft says all your progress carries over if you buy the game afterwards.
- Anniversary event. An in-game concert by DJ Henri PFR runs from 22 October to 4 November, plus gear and outfits themed on other Ubisoft series during anniversary week.
- What's next. Ubisoft promises offline play that keeps your progression, a new event list, four new sports in Year 6 (Snowscoot, Snowbike, Supermoto, inline skates) and a Nintendo Switch 2 version on 9 December.
- Price. On Steam the standard edition is 39.99 dollars and not discounted at the time of writing. Ubisoft mentioned an anniversary sale but published no numbers.
On PC and PlayStation I couldn't confirm a free weekend. Ubisoft's announcement gives the dates without platforms, and on Thursday evening the Steam page showed a plain Buy button. Last year's free weekend ran on Ubisoft Connect and consoles but not on Steam, so if you play on PC, check Ubisoft Connect first.
Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Game Pass weekend and 80% off
The Reloaded Edition is playable from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October for Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members. Essential, the cheapest tier, is enough. After the weekend it costs 11.99 dollars instead of 59.99 on Xbox. Good timing, too: Techland released Update 1.30 with the Halloween 2026 event on 22 October, so the city is already decorated.
If you buy, Microsoft says you keep the achievements and Gamerscore earned during the event. About the save itself the post says nothing, so I wouldn't promise it, though on Xbox the save sits in the cloud and doesn't vanish when the trial ends.
Tropico 6, Let's Build a Zoo and two Monster Hunter Stories
| Game | Access | Subscription needed | Price on Xbox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riders Republic | free weekend, 22-26 October | no | no discount announced |
| Monster Hunter Stories | 3-hour trial | no | 9.89 instead of 29.99 dollars |
| Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin | 3-hour trial | no | 9.99 instead of 39.99 dollars |
| Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition | full game, 22-25 October | Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential | 11.99 instead of 59.99 dollars (80%) |
| Tropico 6 | full game, 22-25 October | Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential | 9.99 instead of 39.99 dollars (75%) until 2 November |
| Let's Build a Zoo | full game, 22-25 October | Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential | 6.99 instead of 19.99 dollars, DLC up to 65% off |
Tropico 6 is here for a reason: Tropico 7 comes out on 28 January, pre-orders and a demo opened on 20 October, and the sixth game at 9.99 dollars is a cheap way to find out whether you enjoy playing a dictator at all. DLC is up to 60% off until 2 November. Let's Build a Zoo is a small, cosy pixel-art tycoon, and the Dinosaur Island and Aquarium Odyssey add-ons are discounted with it.
The two Monster Hunter Stories are open to everyone, but only for three hours each. That's enough to see whether turn-based monster raising appeals, and the price after is under ten dollars.
How to find them, and what's free on PC
On console, open the Store, go to Subscriptions and look for the Free Play Days collection. Through Xbox.com each game's page opens the Microsoft Store. You need to be signed in, otherwise the Game Pass install button doesn't show. Microsoft doesn't give an end hour for the Game Pass games, so plan to finish on Sunday.
On PC the free games this week are on the Epic Games Store: Sker Ritual and Home are yours to keep until 29 October, 15:00 UTC. The full history of Epic's giveaways and what's coming next is on our separate page.
Sources
Xbox Wire, Free Play Days, 22.10.2026. Ubisoft News, Riders Republic Season 20 and 5th anniversary, 07.10.2026. Ubisoft, Riders Republic 5th Anniversary Livestream announcement on Steam, 22.10.2026. Riders Republic on Steam. Dying Light 2 Stay Human on Steam, Techland, Update 1.30 Halloween 2026. Tropico 6 on Steam, Kalypso, Tropico 7 pre-orders and demo announcement, 20.10.2026. Epic Games Store promotions data. Screenshots from Steam.
