2 Games You Can Play for Free, This Weekend Only (Bonus: Paladins Open Beta)

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 05 May 2017

The week is almost over and you’re excited to go home and play video games all weekend long. But... you don’t want to play any of the games you already own and you don’t want to spend any money on buying something new. Well, since you’re not exactly sure what to play, let me throw a couple suggestions your way.

Two games have gone free to play on Steam this weekend: Rocket League and Tom Clancy's The Division. Over in console world, Hi-Rez Studios' free-to-play team-based shooter Paladins is now available for free as an Open Beta.

1. Rocket League



Rocket League proves that by combining soccer and racing you’ll get a great game that people will love. Released in July 2015, this vehicular soccer video game managed to rack up 2 million downloads in its first week, 5 million downloads by the end of the month, and more than 8 million downloads by the end of the year. And according to developer Psyonix, there are more than 25 million Rocket League players right now.

If you have yet to give Rocket League a try, this is your chance to do it for free. The game is free to play on Steam until Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time.

All Rocket League editions are discounted by 30% until Monday at 10AM Pacific Time. The Standard Edition is priced at $14 instead of $20, the GOTY Edition is $17.5 instead of $25, and the Rocket League 4-pack is $42 instead of $60.



Rocket League Quick Facts
  • Game type – vehicular soccer video game where you play soccer using booster-rigged vehicles.
  • Release date – July 2015 for PC and PS4, February 2016 for Xbox One.
  • Price – regularly priced at $19.99 for the Standard Edition, $24.99 for the GOTY Edition, and $59.99 for the 4-Pack. All versions are discounted by 30% on Steam until May 8.
  • About – A futuristic Sports-Action game, Rocket League®, equips players with booster-rigged vehicles that can be crashed into balls for incredible goals or epic saves across multiple, highly-detailed arenas. Using an advanced physics system to simulate realistic interactions, Rocket League relies on mass and momentum to give players a complete sense of intuitive control in this unbelievable, high-octane re-imagining of association football.
Learn more about Rocket League and go get the game from Steam.

Rocket League is free to play until Sunday, May 7, at 1PM Pacific Time. The sale ends on Monday, May 8, at 10AM Pacific Time.


2. Tom Clancy’s The Division



After a devastating pandemic hits New York City, basic services start to fail one by one and society collapses into chaos. As a member of the Strategic Homeland Division (The Division for short), you have to investigate the source of the pandemic, fight the hostile groups that are trying to take advantage of this crisis, and restore order. It’s up to you to save society and take back New York.

Just like Rocket League, The Division is free to play on Steam until Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time.

If you like The Division and decide to buy it, you can do so for 50% off until Monday at 10AM Pacific Time. The Standard Edition is priced at $25 instead of $50 and the Gold Edition is priced at $45 instead of $90.



The Division Quick Facts
  • Game type – online-only open world third-person shooter video game.
  • Release date – March 2016 for Windows, Xbox One and PS4.
  • Price – regularly priced at $25 for the Standard Edition and $90 for the Gold Edition. Both versions are discounted by 50% on Steam until May 8.
  • About – A devastating pandemic sweeps through New York City, and one by one, basic services fail. In only days, without food or water, society collapses into chaos. The Division, an autonomous unit of tactical agents, is activated. Leading seemingly ordinary lives among us, these agents are trained to operate independently in order to save society.
Learn more about The Division and go get the game from Steam.

The Division is free to play until Sunday, May 7, at 1PM Pacific Time. The sale ends on Monday, May 8, at 10AM Pacific Time.


Bonus – Paladins Open Beta for consoles



Paladins, the game that’s mockingly referred to as "the poor man’s Overwatch", is now in Open Beta and completely free for PS4 and Xbox One players who want to give it a try.

"Join 8.5 million players in Paladins, now officially in Open Beta on PS4! Just log into the PlayStation Store to download and play Paladins, absolutely free," announced Paladins Console Community Manager Matthew Marshall via the PlayStation blog.

"Paladins is now 100% free for everyone to download and play on Xbox One!" said the same Matthew Marshal on Microsoft’s Xbox Wire blog. "With the open beta starting today, you can download Paladins from the Xbox Store and enter the Realm right now. Don’t worry about the “beta” tag — Paladins will be free to play forever and you won’t lose any progress once we launch later this year."

To celebrate the Open Beta launch of Paladins on Xbox One and PS4, the developer is running a double gold event until Sunday, May 7.



Paladins Quick Facts
  • Game type – fantasy team-based shooter.
  • Release date – September 2016 as an Early Access Game on Steam, May 2017 as an Open Beta for Xbox One and PS4.
  • Price – free-to-play. To unlock all champions you must get the Founder’s Pack which is priced at $20.
  • About – Enter a fantasy world of ancient technology in Paladins, a team-based shooter with strategy elements and deep character customization. Through a unique collectible card system, players can amplify and augment a character’s core set of abilities to play exactly how they want to play.
Learn more about Paladins and go get the game for PS4 and Xbox One.



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