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To keep a paid Steam game permanently, claim it during an active Free to Keep promotion, also shown as a 100% discount. Steam attaches a permanent license to your account when the free acquisition is completed. You do not have to download the game while the promotion is running.
Do not confuse that offer with a Free Weekend. A Free Weekend provides temporary access and does not leave you with a permanent playable license when the event ends. Free-to-play games are a third category: they remain free to download and play, although a game may offer optional purchases.
The three kinds of “free” on Steam
The word free describes different Steam offers. The store-page label, the promotion’s end time, and the license granted to your account matter more than whether the button says Play, whether the game is already installed, or whether the title appears in your Library.
| Offer type | License and access | What happens after the offer ends | What you should do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to Keep or 100% discount | You permanently acquire a license while the promotion is active. | The free package is removed from the store page, but the license already acquired remains attached to your account. | Complete the free acquisition before the displayed deadline. |
| Free Weekend | You receive temporary access to play the eligible game. | Access ends. The title may remain visible in your Library, but continued play requires buying the full version. | Treat it as a trial unless you separately purchase the game. |
| Free to Play | The game is available to download and play without a subscription or credit card. | The game remains in the free-to-play category, subject to its own account and purchase rules. | Use Steam’s Free To Play catalog to find permanently free titles. |
Valve’s Steamworks Documentation defines a Free to Keep promotion as “a time-limited promotion that allows a player to permanently acquire a license for a game for free.” That permanent license is the feature that answers the question most people mean when they ask whether a free Steam game is really theirs.
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What “keep it forever” means
For a Free to Keep offer, Steam records the game license on the account that completed the acquisition. The promotion itself is temporary, but the acquired license is permanent rather than expiring when the countdown reaches zero. The store may stop displaying the free package after the event, yet the account entitlement remains.
“Permanent” distinguishes the license from a timed event. It does not mean that the promotion stays visible forever, that the installer must remain on your computer, or that you must download anything before the deadline. The important action is adding the license to the account while the qualifying offer is live.
Steam uses different language for a Free Weekend. Its documentation describes that event as “a time-limited promotion that allows players to temporarily access and play an eligible game for free.” A weekend entry can therefore look like a normal Library game without giving you the right to keep playing after the event.
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How to claim a Free to Keep Steam game
Use this sequence whenever you see a limited-time free game. It separates the account claim from the optional download and gives you a way to verify the offer before it expires.
- Open the official Steam store page. Navigate to the game’s own store listing while the promotion is active. Do not rely only on a third-party headline or a search result that says “free.” The store page is where the current offer and its deadline are shown.
- Read the offer label. Look specifically for Free to Keep, a 100% discount, or wording that clearly says you can acquire the game permanently. If the page calls the event a Free Weekend or a timed trial, it is not the same entitlement.
- Check the end time. A Free to Keep promotion is valid only until the deadline shown by Steam. Plan to finish the acquisition before that time rather than waiting for the last few minutes.
- Complete the free acquisition action. Use the add-to-account or equivalent free purchase action displayed on the store page. The goal is for Steam to grant the license package to your account; downloading the game files is not required for the claim.
- Open your Library. Confirm that the title is associated with the same Steam account you used on the store page. Keep a note of the title and claim date if you maintain a promotion list.
- Install whenever you want. Once the permanent license is on the account, you can download the game later rather than using disk space during the promotion.
Why the label matters more than the button
A button that says Play only describes what Steam can let you do at that moment. It does not by itself identify the license type. A Free Weekend can also let you press Play and can leave a Library entry behind. Always interpret the button alongside the offer name and countdown.
Why downloading is optional
The license is granted during the account-acquisition step, not when the game finishes downloading. If your connection is slow, your storage is full, or you are away from your computer, complete the claim first and install later. An unfinished download does not turn a Free Weekend into a permanent license, and a completed download does not turn a temporary event into a permanent one.
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How to verify that the claim is permanent
Verification is useful because a Library listing alone is not conclusive. Use the following checks while the promotion is still visible:
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- Check that the acquisition action completed on the account you intend to use. A claim made on a different account will not transfer simply because the same computer is used.
- Look for the game in that account’s Library after completing the claim.
- Record the game title and the date you claimed it. This gives you a personal reference if the promotional page disappears.
Steam may remove the free package from the store listing when the promotion closes. That disappearance is expected for a completed Free to Keep claim and does not mean the account license was removed.
What happens when a Free to Keep promotion ends
At the deadline, Steam stops offering the promotional package on the store page. Anyone who did not complete the free acquisition before the cutoff can no longer use that expired offer. Anyone who already acquired the permanent license keeps the entitlement on the account.
The game files and the license are separate. You can uninstall a claimed game to recover storage and reinstall it later from the Library. Conversely, leaving a game installed does not preserve access if you only used a Free Weekend. The license type established during the event controls what happens afterward.
Why a Free Weekend is not a permanent claim
A Free Weekend is designed for temporary access. During the event, you can download and play the eligible game under the event’s conditions. When the event ends, Steam says the title may remain listed in your Library, but you can only uninstall it unless you buy the full version.
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This creates the most common false positive: a player sees the game in the Library and assumes it has been kept forever. The listing shows that Steam remembers the event or product entry; it does not prove that a permanent license was granted.
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Free Weekend decision rule
If the store page says Free Weekend, regard the offer as a trial. Play during the event if you want to evaluate the game, but do not count it as a permanent addition unless you later purchase the full version or the page separately changes to a Free to Keep promotion and you complete that claim.
How free-to-play games differ
Free-to-play is not a limited promotion. Steam Support describes free-to-play games as available to download for free and playable without a subscription or a credit card. Optional in-game purchases may use Steam Wallet funds, but those purchases are separate from the ability to download and play the base game.
A free-to-play title does not require the same claim deadline as a Free to Keep event. You can discover it in Steam’s Free To Play catalog and add or install it under the game’s normal account and purchase rules. The catalog category tells you that the game is permanently offered as free-to-play; it does not describe a temporary 100% discount on a normally paid product.
Finding legitimate Free to Keep offers
Steam’s documentation notes that Free to Keep promotions are not promoted in a dedicated store location by default. That makes them less predictable to discover than free-to-play games. Deal reporting can alert you to a possible promotion, but the Steam store page must be the final check because the label and deadline determine the entitlement.
- Use trusted promotion alerts or deal coverage to learn that a title may be free.
- Open the title’s official Steam store page rather than claiming through an unverified download site.
- Confirm the page says Free to Keep or shows a 100% discount with a permanent acquisition action.
- Check the displayed closing time and complete the claim before it expires.
Do not infer permanence from a zero price shown in a search snippet, an old article, or a social-media post. Promotions change, and an expired Free to Keep event can be replaced by a normal paid listing or a Free Weekend.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
You installed the game but did not claim it
Installation is not the ownership event. Reopen the store page and inspect the current offer. If the page is still running a Free to Keep promotion, complete the account-acquisition action. If the promotion has ended, installing the files does not recreate the expired claim.
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The game is in your Library, but play is blocked
Check whether the original event was a Free Weekend. Steam allows the entry to remain visible after temporary access ends, while continued play requires purchase. The Library entry alone cannot upgrade a temporary license.
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The store page no longer shows the free package
That is normal after a Free to Keep event closes. Check the Library of the account used for the claim and consult your saved title-and-date record. The promotional package disappearing from the store page is different from Steam revoking a license that was already acquired.
You are unsure which account made the claim
Verify that you are signed in to the account whose Library you checked. A permanent license is attached to the account that completed the acquisition, not automatically to every account using the same computer.
You waited until the countdown reached zero
Once the deadline passes, Steam removes the free package from the store page. There is no indication that an incomplete or late attempt becomes a permanent license. Future access requires a new qualifying promotion or a purchase.
You trusted the words “free” without reading the offer type
Use the three-way distinction: Free to Keep means permanent acquisition, Free Weekend means temporary access, and Free to Play means an ongoing free game category. Classifying the offer before clicking prevents the most expensive misunderstanding.
A practical record-keeping method
A simple record helps when a promotion disappears from the store. For every Free to Keep claim, save the game title, the date and approximate time, and the fact that the store page showed Free to Keep or a 100% discount. You do not need to keep the installer or leave the game installed.
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When you later want to play, open the Library and install the title from the account that made the claim. If it is not available, first check the account identity and then review whether the original offer was actually a Free Weekend. Those two checks explain most apparent missing-game cases.
Quick checklist before you claim
- Is the offer explicitly labeled Free to Keep or a 100% discount?
- Does the Steam page show a closing time that has not passed?
- Have you completed the free add-to-account or acquisition action, rather than only starting a download?
- Did you verify the title in the correct account’s Library?
- Did you record the title and claim date?
If every answer is yes, Steam’s definition of the promotion supports permanent access through the acquired license. If the page says Free Weekend, stop treating the event as ownership; if it says Free to Play, use the normal free-to-play catalog and the game’s own rules instead.
Examples that clarify the difference
Example: a successful permanent claim
A normally paid game displays Free to Keep and a 100% discount with a deadline. You complete the free acquisition on Monday, see the title in your Library, and do not install it. On Tuesday, the store page no longer offers the free package. The license acquired Monday remains attached to the account, so you can install the game later.
Example: a temporary weekend
A game displays Free Weekend and lets you play through Sunday. You install it and leave it in the Library after the event. The entry remains, but Steam requires a purchase to continue playing. The installation and Library entry did not create a permanent license.
Example: an ongoing free-to-play title
A game appears in Steam’s Free To Play catalog. You download and play it without a subscription or credit card. Optional purchases may be available, but there is no limited Free to Keep countdown that you must beat to retain the base game.
The shortest reliable rule
Claim the license, not merely the download. A Free to Keep label plus a completed account acquisition before the deadline gives you the permanent Steam license. A Free Weekend gives temporary access, and a free-to-play listing is an ongoing free category with its own optional-purchase rules.
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