Epic Games Mystery Game Giveaway 2024 – First game leaked as Holiday event returns with a bagful of free games – what we know so far

Another mid-December arrives and Epic Games is prepping its annual mass giveaway of games to get you through the next 12 months. Last year, we saw 17 games handed out, slowly at first and then daily as we got towards the big day. So what do we know about this year’s Giveaway?

Well, for starters it begins with the first Mystery Game arriving on 12th December. If we then follow the same pattern as last year we will then have to wait a week for Game 2 before things start to pick up in Christmas week. As ever we are sure there will be leaks aplenty and we will be following all the juicy gossip as leakers try to get to the news of what’s next first. So be sure to bookmark this page to be in the know before anybody else.

Update: 12 December 2024

We now know that the Epic Giveaway 2024 will be handing out 16 free games between today and January 9th. You can find the full schedule for releases below and we will update that with any leaks as we go along. Last year we got 17 games and the year before 15, so 2024’s haul sits right in the middle of that. We can’t wait to see what they will be this time around.

Update 2: It looks as though the first game, which will be with us for a week until the daily drops start will be The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria which we actually enjoyed quite a lot when it first came out. Definitely one worth adding to your Epic Games library.

What games are in the 2024 Epic giveaway?

The internet goes wild each year trying to work out what games will be coming next. Epic generally gives vague clues with its screenshots for the following title, and that, combined with leakers, means we can generally get a decent indication of what might be coming next.

In the past, Epic has built clues into the wrapping paper image for the next game and that is enough to set internet sleuths the world over into action. Leakers will also be busy trying to work it all out for us and we will bring you their best guesses as well.

The first wrapping paper doesn’t seem to give much away really although there are potentially chess pieces on there.

The giveaway generally includes high-profile titles along with indie offerings and builds to a crescendo as the days go by.

We will be updating this page as the games arrive with what is coming, what we know is coming, and what is confirmed.

Epic Giveaway 2024 free games

When is the Epic Games Store Holiday Sale?

There is no confirmed date for the sale but, if recent years are anything to go by the sale will start on the day of the first giveaway (so December 12th) and run into the first few days of January. We will update the confirmed dates just as soon as Epic drops them

As well as the Epic Holiday Sale, the other prominent digital storefront Steam runs its own event, and its sale is scheduled to start on December 19th and run until January 2nd, 2025.