To keep a paid Steam game permanently, claim it while Steam labels the promotion Free to Keep or shows a 100% discount. That transaction grants a permanent license to your account. A Free Weekend is only temporary access, and installing either type of offer is not what determines ownership.
The short answer: claim the license, not merely the download
Steam uses several different kinds of “free” offers. The one that lets you retain a normally paid game is a Free to Keep promotion. Steam defines this as a time-limited promotion that lets a player permanently acquire a game license at no cost. You must complete the free acquisition while the promotion is active. Once the license is attached to your Steam account, the game can remain in your library after the promotion ends.
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Downloading the game is optional. You can claim the license, leave the files uninstalled, and install the game later. Conversely, downloading a game during a temporary event does not convert that event into permanent ownership. The decisive step is the free license being added to the account before the deadline.
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Before clicking a button, identify which type of offer you are looking at. The store page’s wording and end time matter more than whether the current button says Play, Install or another action.
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| Offer type | License or access period | What happens when it ends | Best action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to Keep or 100% discount | Permanent license after a successful claim | The free promotional package is removed from the store page, but the acquired license remains on the account | Complete the free acquisition before the stated deadline |
| Free Weekend | Temporary access during the event | Access ends; the title may stay visible in the library, but continued play requires buying the full game | Treat it as a trial unless you separately purchase the game |
| Free to Play | Free download and play under the game’s own rules | The game remains available as a free-to-play title, although optional purchases may be offered | Find titles through Steam’s Free To Play catalog |
A Free Weekend can therefore produce the most confusing result: a game may appear in your library after the event, yet you still cannot play it without purchasing it. Library visibility is not proof of a permanent license.
How to claim a Free to Keep game step by step
- Open the official Steam store page. Use the game’s own store listing rather than relying on a third-party description of the deal. The page is where Steam presents the current offer and its end time.
- Read the promotion label. Look specifically for “Free to Keep,” a 100% discount, or equivalent wording that indicates permanent acquisition. Do not treat “Free Weekend,” “play for free,” a demo, or a timed trial as the same offer.
- Check the deadline and time zone shown by Steam. Limited promotions close automatically. If a countdown is present, regard it as the final window for completing the claim, not merely the final window for starting a download.
- Complete the free acquisition action. Follow the store page’s displayed action to add the offer to your account. The important result is that Steam grants the license package; beginning or finishing a download is not required.
- Wait for the account confirmation. Do not close the page immediately after clicking. Confirm that Steam indicates the item has been acquired or otherwise shows that the transaction completed at a zero price.
- Open your Steam Library. Search for the title in the account that made the claim. A library entry alone can also be produced by a Free Weekend, so use the promotion type and acquisition confirmation together when checking ownership.
- Install now or later. If you need disk space, leave the game uninstalled. A successfully acquired permanent license is the part that must be obtained before the offer closes.
What “permanent” means in practice
The license is tied to the claiming account
A Free to Keep promotion grants a license to the Steam account that completes the acquisition. The practical consequence is that you should be signed in to the account where you want the game retained before claiming it. A download on a shared computer does not, by itself, identify which account owns the entitlement; the account completing the free transaction does.
The store page can change without removing your claim
Steam removes the promotional package from the store page when the event ends. That disappearance is expected. It does not mean a player who already acquired the license has lost it. The store listing can stop advertising the free offer while the previously granted license remains associated with the account.
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Installation is separate from acquisition
Steam’s definition concerns acquiring a license, not possessing installed files. You can claim a game on a laptop, uninstall it to reclaim storage, and install it later from the Library as long as the account still has the acquired license available. Installing before the deadline is unnecessary and can create a false sense of security if the underlying offer was only a Free Weekend.
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How to tell whether your claim really succeeded
Use three checks, not one
- Offer check: Before claiming, the store page identified a Free to Keep or 100% discount promotion.
- Completion check: Steam accepted the free acquisition and showed a completed zero-cost transaction or equivalent account confirmation.
- Library check: The title appears in the Library for the same account used to claim it.
The first check identifies the kind of license being offered. The second confirms that you actually completed the transaction. The third gives you a convenient way to find the game later. None of these checks requires downloading the game’s files.
Keep a simple record
For promotions you do not install immediately, record the game name, the date you claimed it and the account used. This is useful when a store page later returns to its normal price or the promotional listing disappears. Your note should describe the event as “Free to Keep” rather than simply “free,” so you do not confuse it with a trial.
Why the deadline matters
Free to Keep offers are deliberately time-limited. Steam’s documentation says the free package is removed from the store page when the promotion ends. If you have not completed the acquisition by then, you should not assume that opening the page, adding the game to a wishlist, starting a download or leaving the checkout window open will preserve the offer.
Use the store page’s displayed end time as the authority. Deal posts, screenshots and social messages can be delayed, use a different time zone or describe a promotion that has already ended. The safest sequence is to open the live Steam listing, verify the label and countdown, and finish the claim in one session.
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Free Weekend: the common ownership trap
A Free Weekend is a temporary access promotion. Steam describes it as a time-limited event that lets players access and play an eligible game for free for the duration of the event. It is designed to let you try the full game, not to grant a permanent no-cost license.
After the event, Steam says the title may remain listed in your library, but you can only uninstall it unless you buy the full version. That behavior explains why a player might remember “adding” a free game yet be unable to launch it a few days later. The library entry records the temporary event; it does not prove that a permanent license was issued.
Questions to ask during a Free Weekend
- Does the page explicitly say Free to Keep or show a 100% discount?
- Is the page instead describing a Free Weekend with a start and end time for play access?
- After the event, is Steam offering purchase rather than continued play?
If the answer points to a Free Weekend, treat the event as a trial. You can play during the stated window, but you need a separate purchase for ongoing access.
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Free-to-play is not a limited promotion for a normally paid game. Steam Support describes free-to-play games as available to download and play without a subscription or credit card. These titles remain part of Steam’s free-to-play offering, subject to each game’s own account requirements and optional purchases.
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Optional purchases do not change the basic distinction: a free-to-play title is available without buying the game itself, while a Free to Keep promotion is a temporary chance to obtain a permanent license for a title that is otherwise sold. For discovery, Steam directs users to its Free To Play list rather than to a temporary-deal page.
Where to find legitimate free offers
Start with Steam’s own pages
Use Steam’s Free To Play catalog for games that are permanently free to download and play. For Free to Keep events, open the individual game’s official store page and verify the offer there. Steam’s documentation notes that Free to Keep promotions are not promoted in a dedicated store location by default, so there may not be one permanent page listing every active giveaway.
Use deal reporting only as a lead
Trusted deal reporting can alert you that a promotion may be active, but it is not the license record. Follow the report to Steam, inspect the current store-page label and complete the claim there. This protects you from expired deals, misidentified Free Weekends and links that describe a discount without stating whether the license is permanent.
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Common situations and the correct response
“I installed it, so why can’t I keep it?”
Installation does not determine the license type. Check whether the event was a Free Weekend. If it was, the files may remain on the computer while Steam limits play after the event; uninstalling is then the available action unless you purchase the game.
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“The store page now shows a price.”
A normal price after the event is expected. For a Free to Keep claim, the promotional package disappears from the store page after the deadline while the acquired license remains on the claiming account. Check the Library and your acquisition confirmation rather than judging ownership from the current store price.
“The game is in my Library, but it will not launch.”
A library entry can represent temporary Free Weekend access. Recheck the original offer type and whether Steam accepted a permanent acquisition. If the event was a Free Weekend, continued play requires purchase.
“I waited until after the countdown.”
Do not assume that a page visit or an unfinished download preserved the offer. Steam removes the free package when the promotion closes. If you did not complete the acquisition before the deadline, the permanent license may not have been granted.
“I claimed it but cannot find it.”
Search the Library while signed in to the account that completed the free acquisition. Check the title spelling and look for a completed account confirmation. If you used another Steam account, the license belongs to that account rather than the one currently open.
A practical verification checklist
- Open the official Steam store page before acting.
- Identify the offer as Free to Keep or a 100% discount.
- Read the displayed end time and complete the acquisition before it expires.
- Confirm that Steam accepted the zero-cost transaction.
- Check the Library under the same account.
- Install only when convenient; installation is optional for retaining the license.
- Save the title and claim date for promotions you plan to play later.
Decision guide: which action fits the offer?
| If the page says… | Your goal | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to Keep or 100% discount | Retain the game permanently | Complete the free acquisition before the deadline | A permanent license is attached to the account |
| Free Weekend | Try the game temporarily | Install and play during the event | Access ends after the event unless you buy the game |
| Free to Play | Play a permanently free title | Download from Steam’s Free To Play catalog | Free access continues under the game’s rules, with optional purchases possible |
| A deal report with no clear Steam label | Determine whether ownership is permanent | Verify the live Steam store page before claiming | The official page determines the actual offer and deadline |
The key distinction to remember
“Free” describes the price at a particular moment, not necessarily the duration of your license. Free to Keep means a time-limited opportunity to acquire a permanent license. Free Weekend means temporary access. Free to Play means the game is offered without a purchase, with its own rules and optional in-game spending. Read the label, complete the right action before the deadline, and use the Library only as a confirmation of the account you used—not as a substitute for checking the license type.
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