Epic gave away a game for free, but then blew up on Steam

Multiplayer World War II first-person shooter All hell unleashed became free on the Epic Games Store earlier this week – a limited giveaway that it also took advantage of on another platform. Publisher Team17’s 100-player military shooter, released in 2021, was free as part of Epic Games’ mysterious giveaway that started on January 2. (The giveaway ends Thursday at 11 a.m. EST.) The giveaway was a huge boost to player numbers. on the Epic Games Store itself, where it was previously unavailable to play, but also increased the number of players on Windows PC via Steam.

From January 2 All hell unleashed started its upward trajectory on Steam, reaching its highest number of concurrent players there on January 5 – 20,388 players. (The total peak, across all platforms, were 140,000 people, the developer said on X.) Before the Epic Games Store giveaway, player count hovered below 10,000 concurrent players for months.

The game, in which squads of 50 soldiers compete against each other, is known for its realistic, tactical gameplay. It’s still going strong since its 2021 release, but the Epic Games Store giveaway gave it a big bump. But because of that players have reported longer queue times and server issues. So why the increase on Steam, where All hell unleashed is noticeable not free? (It retails for $35.99, down 40% from $59.99.) The number of Steam players obviously doesn’t count those who access the game through the Epic Games Store launcher; About 40,000 people played the game for free via that platform. The resurgence is likely due to the power of friendship: people are returning to the game after taking a break, probably because their friends have a new interest in it after using it for free. Some Steam diehards, who like to have their games in one place, may have made the purchase there as well.