Epic Games Store has made the acclaimed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game free to download and keep permanently. This critically-praised superhero action-adventure game is available for free on Epic Games Store from January 4th to January 11th, 2024 as part of their weekly free game promotions.
Overview of Guardians of the Galaxy Game
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a third-person action-adventure game developed by Eidos Montréal and published by Square Enix. Released in October 2021 for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms, the game has been praised for its story, characters, graphics, and gameplay.
The game lets players take control of Star-Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy team. The other team members – Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot – are controlled by advanced AI and assist Star-Lord during combat and missions. The story follows the Guardians as they inadvertently set off a chain of catastrophic events and must deal with the consequences while also facing off new threats.
| Platform | Metacritic Score |
|-|-|
| PC | 81 |
| PS5 | 87 |
| Xbox Series X|S | 84 |
The game features third-person shooter combat and action set pieces as well as dialogue choices that impact the story. The Guardians can also perform combo moves and team attacks. Players get to explore alien planets and space ships. The game has been praised for accurately capturing the spirit of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise with great character arcs, dialogues, soundtrack, and visuals.
Epic Games Store Promotion Details
Epic Games Store’s weekly free game promotion went live on January 4th, offering Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy for free. Players just need to claim the game from the store before January 11th to add it to their library permanently.
This is part of Epic’s annual holiday sale which offers a new mystery game for free every week. Earlier free titles have included notable games like Prey, Second Extinction, Myst, and Shenmue III. Epic also offered a $10 coupon for purchases over $14.99 during the sale duration.
The promotion has led to a big surge in Epic Games Store user traffic. According to analytics firm SimilarWeb, EGS total visits jumped over 138% compared to the previous day right after Guardians of the Galaxy became free.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has said these free game offers are part of their strategy to grow the store and build market share against rival Steam. Epic aims to eventually reach over 500 million PC gaming customers worldwide.
Response from Gamers and Industry
Gamers and the gaming press have highly praised Epic’s move to make such a major AAA game free. Guardians of the Galaxy received glowing reviews when it launched over 2 years ago but many gamers had held off buying it at the $59.99 price tag.
Many experts have called Guardians of the Galaxy one of the best Marvel games ever made. Offering it for free is seen as an unprecedented giveaway in the industry.
Popular gaming sites like IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer have published articles highlighting how users can grab this deal. Social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter also have threads with thousands of upvotes discussing and celebrating the promotion.
Industry analysts think this will be a massive boost for Epic Games Store and estimate over 15 million gamers will claim the game for free during the one week duration.
What Happens Next
According to leaks, upcoming free games on Epic Games Store include notable titles like Plague Tale: Requiem, Total War: Warhammer III, and Red Dead Redemption 2. However, Epic has not officially confirmed this leak.
If more AAA games are given away for free in the coming months, experts predict it will further boost EGS market share and mind share with gamers. It may also compel Steam and other stores to counter with their own free game promotions.
For Marvel games, Guardians of the Galaxy has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity thanks to the MCU films and appearances in crossover titles like Marvel’s Avengers. More Guardians of the Galaxy game content like DLC expansions can be expected in the future to capitalize on this momentum.
The Guardians team may also feature in upcoming Marvel ensemble games that draw characters from across the Marvel universe. After the success of Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel is likely to greenlight more AAA single character or team-based games for console and PC platforms.
Offering the game for free is mainly aimed at exposing the title to many more gamers and driving goodwill for the publisher Square Enix and developer Eidos Montréal. If there is enough fan demand, it could also influence the odds of a potential Guardians of the Galaxy sequel down the line.
Overall, this promotion showcases Epic Game Store’s aggressive strategy to contend with Steam, provides great value to gamers looking for free AAA games, and bodes well for the future of Marvel gaming.
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