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Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.
In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.
He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com
Steam may not always have the major AAA free games that make headlines on services like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, but it more than makes up for it with sheer numbers. As January 2026 kicks off, Steam is adding eight new games that you can play completely for free. And based on the spread we've seen, there's a little something for everyone here.
Over on X, the Steam Games account has posted eight new titles that have been added to the platform for free. If you're a bit strapped for cash after holiday spending, then having this many free games should be a sight for sore eyes. In order to get them, you'll just need a Steam account (which is also free to set up).
You Definitely Missed These Steam Free Games
The free games added to Steam in January include the following eight new games:
- Endless Forest
- Samburger's Oddballs
- Elemental Battle: Eclipse
- Never Immortal
- Pingorile
- Cube Dodger 3D
- The Whittled Horse
- Campoca
There's a little something for everyone here. Whether you want a quirky platformer, something with a retro vibe, or a top-down shooter to survive, one of the freebies here should be appealing in some way or another. And because they're free, there's really no reason to skip checking them out.
There's Something For Everyone
Campoca, which is completely free with 0 in-app purchases, has you collecting pieces and building up your campsite in a relaxing wilderness environment. Cube Dodger 3D is an arcade runner, and while it does have in-app purchases for ship designs, you can play it without spending a dime. The Whittled Horse is about two delivery people discovering a secret and has a cool retro vibe we can dig.
Meanwhile, games like Pingorile (a 2D platformer about a penguin) and Samburger's Oddballs (also a platformer) are callbacks to the NES era of gaming. Endless Forest should appeal to Minecraft fans, and Never Immortal is a top-down shooter that's free-to-play. Rounding out the list is Elemental Battle: Eclipse, which is an arena fighter with a fun anime look.
See? Something for everyone. And since all of these are free, you can give them a try and find out if they're right for you or not. To download them, you can head over to Steam now. There's plenty here to keep you busy for the rest of January, and it's a pretty solid start to freebies this year. You can also check out our list of best free games with Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam too.
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