Updated every Friday. This week: 6 to 9 November 2026. Earlier weekends are listed at the bottom of the page.
The main free game this weekend is PAYDAY 3, and Starbreeze clearly wants a second first impression. The free weekend started on Thursday at 18:00 UTC on Steam and PS5 and ends at 18:00 UTC on Monday 9 November. On Xbox it opened two hours earlier and closes sooner, at 05:59 UTC on 9 November. Everything you do in those four days stays on your account if you buy the game later.
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PAYDAY 3: four days, every heist, progress kept
This is the full base game, not a trimmed trial. According to Starbreeze, every heist that used to be paid DLC is now part of the base game, so all of them are open for the weekend, along with the Campaign Mode, the returned CRIME.NET server browser and the reworked skill and armor systems. You also no longer need a Starbreeze Nebula account to start playing, which used to be the most annoying step of the first launch.
- Steam and PS5. From 18:00 UTC on 5 November to 18:00 UTC on 9 November.
- Xbox Series X|S. From 16:00 UTC on 5 November to 05:59 UTC on 9 November, so console players lose most of Monday.
- Epic Games Store. Not included. The Epic version gets only the sale.
- Progress. Starbreeze says all of it stays after the event, even if you buy weeks later.
The base game and some DLC are discounted at the same time, but the dates differ by store: Steam from 5 to 12 November, Epic from 4 to 11 November, PlayStation from 4 to 21 November and Xbox from 4 to 18 November. On Steam the base game now costs $8.99 instead of $29.99, 70% off. Starbreeze does not say whether PS Plus is required for the free weekend on PS5, so check the store page before you plan a session there.
Why bother three years after launch? The numbers explain it better than I can. Of 32,058 English-language reviews on Steam, only 45% are positive, while 77% of the 244 reviews from the last 30 days are. At 14:07 UTC on Thursday, a few hours before the free weekend, 545 people were playing it on Steam. By 19:07 UTC, an hour after the Steam free weekend began, there were 1,757. That is a small crew for a game built around four-player heists, and a free weekend is the obvious way to fill lobbies. If you bounced off PAYDAY 3 in 2023, this is a cheap way to see whether the patches changed your mind.
Xbox: Anno 117 and Crime Boss free for everyone, five more with Game Pass
Xbox Free Play Days run from Thursday, November 5 to Sunday, November 8, and this week two games do not need a subscription at all. If you buy a game afterwards, your progress, Gamerscore and achievements carry over. Prices below are from the US Xbox Store as listed in the Xbox Wire post.
- Free for every Xbox member. Anno 117: Pax Romana, with the Gold Edition 40% off, and Crime Boss: Rockay City, which costs $4.99 instead of $19.99.
- With Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential. PAYDAY 3 ($19.49 on Xbox, 35% off), Age of Wonders 4 ($24.99 instead of $49.99), Deceive Inc. ($1.99, 90% off), Nowhere Prophet ($7.49 instead of $24.99) and BALL x PIT ($7.49, half price).
- Trial. IXION gets a two-hour trial over the same days.
On the Epic Games Store, Flotsam and Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms are free to keep until 16:00 UTC on 12 November. Every past giveaway is in our list of free Epic games.
Earlier free weekends
- 30 October. Football Manager 27 a week before launch, two Steam games to keep and five on Xbox
- 23 October. Free this weekend on Xbox: Dying Light 2 in Game Pass, Riders Republic for everyone
- 9 October. ARC Raiders is free until Monday: the full game, the new Frozen Trail and 50% off
- 18 September. Jump Space on Steam, Sea of Thieves on Xbox and PC
Sources
Starbreeze: "Upcoming PAYDAY 3 Free Weekend & Sale Event" (03.11.2026), dates given in CET and converted to UTC. PAYDAY 3 on Steam: price, review scores and player count as of 05.11.2026. Xbox Wire, Free Play Days (05.11.2026): games, dates and US prices. Epic Games Store free games feed, 05.11.2026. Images: official Steam screenshots of PAYDAY 3 and Anno 117: Pax Romana from Steam.
