One of the best games released in the 2010s is now free for millions of PC gamers. The new deal, specifically, is available for Amazon Prime subscribers via Prime Gaming, with codes being distributed via GOG. That said, those interested in this deal only have a limited window to capitalize on it. Thankfully, the window is open until July 1, so it’s a generous window. Once redeemed, the PC game is free to keep forever. In other words, while an active Amazon Prime subscription is required to access the free game, it’s not required to retain the free game.
Between now and July 1, those with an Amazon Prime subscription and a GOG account can claim 2K Games and Firaxis Games’ 2012 turn-based tactics, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, for free. For those unfamiliar with this game, it is the “reimagaining” of the 1994 classic, UFO: Enemy Unknown. And it’s widely considered one of the best strategy games of all time, and one of the best games of the 2010s, as evidenced by its 91 on Metacritic, its PC Game of the Year award at The Game Awards, and its three nominations and two awards at the D.I.C.E. Awards, which includes a Game of the Year nomination. In 2016, it got a sequel, XCOM 2, which is a great strategy game, but not quite as good. To this end, Enemy Unknown remains the definitive experience in the series, and it holds up great 14 years later.
A Lot of Content for free
Those who decide to take advantage of this offer and check out this classic strategy game for free should expect a decent time investment. Just to mainline the turn-based game takes almost 30 hours, while completionists will need more like 70 hours with the 2K release. Of course, XCOM: Enemy Unknown also has great replayability, so it’s possible to get substantially more hours of it than even this.
Right now, there is no word of an XCOM 3 being in the works, nor is such a game even rumored, so there’s a strong chance that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is going to remain the definitive experience in the series for a while.
It’s also worth noting that Amazon Prime is giving away the “Complete Pack” version. This included the equally acclaimed XCOM: Enemy Within expansion, plus all of the released add-on content.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversations over on the ComicBook Forum.