Epic's weekly free PC game drop just refreshed, and this week is a genuinely odd couple: Bad Cheese (normally $12.99) and Agent A: A puzzle in disguise (normally $19.99). Both go from paid to $0 on the Epic Games Store starting Thursday, October 15 at 11:00 AM ET.
That is $32.98 worth of PC games you can keep forever for exactly nothing. No trial, no subscription, no catch beyond the clock: the giveaway window closes on Thursday, October 22 at 11:00 AM ET sharp.
We ran the official Epic Games promotions feed ourselves this morning to confirm the dates and prices, then cross-checked each game's track record on Steam and the developer's own press materials. Here's everything you need to claim both before the window shuts.
Quick Summary
Item | Details |
|---|---|
Free games | Bad Cheese + Agent A |
Normal price | $12.99 + $19.99 |
Free window | Oct 15, 11 AM ET - Oct 22, 11 AM ET |
How to claim | Epic account + $0 checkout |
Cost | $0, keep forever |
What Is the Deal
Epic Games Store runs a free games program every Thursday, and it has been running since 2019 with more than 250 games given away to date. Each week, one or two titles flip to 100% off for seven days. You "buy" them at $0 through a normal checkout, and they stay in your library permanently.
This week's drop started on October 15 at 11:00 AM ET and ends October 22 at 11:00 AM ET. Once the window closes, Epic rotates in the next pair — last week it was Out of Sight and TerraScape, which reverted to paid this morning.
We covered this program several times recently, including Breathedge going free in early September and Astral Ascent plus LUFTRAUSERS through mid-September. The mechanic never changes, but the quality of the weekly pair swings a lot — and this week is one of the stronger lineups in months.
This Week vs Past Weeks
We track every rotation, and the combined value of this pair is the highest since mid-September. Here is how the recent windows stack up.
Week | Free games | Value |
|---|---|---|
Oct 15-22 | Bad Cheese, Agent A | $32.98 |
Oct 8-15 | Out of Sight, TerraScape | Varies |
Sept 10-17 | Astral Ascent, LUFTRAUSERS | $29.98 |
Sept 3-10 | Alone With You, Breathedge | $24.98 |
The pattern worth noting: Epic alternates between one premium indie and one smaller title, and the horror-adjacent slot lands often in October. Bad Cheese fits the seasonal pattern perfectly — publishers time free placements to Halloween traffic, and a psychological horror game going free two weeks before the holiday is no accident.
If you claimed Alone With You last month, your library already shows how this works: the game never expires, no subscription is required to play it, and Epic emails you when titles you claimed get updates.
What's Free
Bad Cheese is a first-person psychological horror game styled after 1920s rubber-hose animation. You play a tiny mouse spending the weekend at home with a dysfunctional Dad while Mom is away, doing chores and keeping the household calm.
Developer Simon Lukasik released it on September 1, 2025 through publisher Feardemic, and Steam reviewers rate it Mostly Positive with roughly 71% of 530-plus reviews in favor. It is Steam Deck Verified, includes 23 achievements, and needs only an Intel i3, 8 GB of RAM, and a GTX 1660 to run.
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise is a five-chapter, 1960s retro-futuristic spy puzzle adventure from Yak & Co, a two-person studio in Melbourne. Your mission: infiltrate enemy spy Ruby La Rouge's hideaway.
The studio's own press kit calls Agent A its award-winning debut. It won the Australian Game Developer Awards Game of the Year in 2016, took a PAX Aus indie award, and holds a 4.9 out of 5 average across more than 100,000 mobile ratings. Expect 35 environments and around 100 inventory-based puzzles in the complete PC edition.
How to Claim Step by Step
Log in to your Epic Games account (free to create) at the Epic Games Store.
Go to the Epic free games page during the window.
Click Bad Cheese, press Get, and complete the $0 checkout.
Repeat for Agent A: A puzzle in disguise.
Check your library — both games are yours permanently, playable on Windows PC.
The checkout step trips people up. Even at $0, Epic treats a free game like a purchase, so you must click through the order screen. If the button says "In Cart" instead of "Get," open your cart and place the order there.
Claim-Day Pitfalls We Keep Seeing
We have walked readers through four of these Thursday drops in a row, and the same failures show up every single week. Check this list before you assume the page is broken.
Stopping at "In Cart": the most common miss. The claim is not real until the order confirmation appears.
Waiting until Thursday night: the window opens at 11:00 AM ET, but store traffic spikes in the evening, and the checkout queue can stall on big-name weeks.
Parental-control blocks: age-rating gates silently hide the Get button on managed accounts. Fix it in the parental controls settings, not by refreshing.
Multiple regions: free games are region-gated. A VPN set to an unsupported region produces errors at checkout even at $0.
Wrong account: claims attach to whichever Epic profile is logged in. Families sharing a PC should verify the account badge before claiming.
Who Is Eligible
Anyone with an Epic Games account can claim these, subject to regional availability. The store limits some titles by age rating, so accounts with parental controls may need a parent's approval before checkout — that is the single most common reason a free game refuses to claim on a family account.
The offer applies to the Windows PC versions on Epic's storefront. It does not cover Steam, mobile, or console versions of either game, and there is no cross-claim: if you want Agent A on your phone later, Yak & Co sells it separately on the app stores.
Important Fine Print
Deadline is hard: the free period ends October 22 at 11:00 AM ET, not midnight. Set a reminder — last week's titles went back to full price the moment the window closed.
Keep forever: claimed games are permanent. Epic's FAQ confirms free games remain in your library even after the promotion ends.
One storefront: the free versions are the Epic PC builds. A claimed copy does not unlock achievements on other platforms.
Bot and abuse rules: Epic can claw back accounts that claim through fraudulent signups, though normal users never hit this.
Bad Cheese content warning: the developer flags cartoonish violence and heavy themes of domestic dysfunction. It is a horror game wearing a cute 1920s cartoon suit — maybe skip it for the kids.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get Epic Games free games this week?
Log in at the Epic Games Store, open the free games page, and complete the $0 checkout for Bad Cheese and Agent A before October 22 at 11:00 AM ET. Each claim runs through a normal cart flow, so do not stop at "In Cart." We walked the full sequence above, and both games take under two minutes each to claim.
Are free Epic games really mine to keep?
Yes. Once the $0 order completes, the game sits in your Epic library permanently and can be re-downloaded any time. Epic's own help pages state that free games claimed during a promotion never expire. The only thing that expires is the claiming window itself, which is why the October 22 cutoff matters more than anything else in this article.
What is Bad Cheese about, and is it scary?
It is a first-person psychological horror game where you play a mouse child keeping a volatile cartoon household from boiling over — scrubbing floors, making fries, and staying on Daddy's good side. Publisher Feardemic's Steam page describes mild but unsettling themes wrapped in cheerful 1920s animation. Reviewers call it creepy and stylish rather than jump-scare heavy, and it is Steam Deck Verified for handheld play.
Who made Agent A: A puzzle in disguise?
Yak & Co, a two-person studio based in Melbourne, Australia. Their official site notes Agent A won the AGDA Game of the Year in 2016 and ranks among the highest-rated puzzle games on mobile with a 4.9 average across 100,000-plus ratings. The Epic PC version contains all five chapters, 35 environments, and about 100 puzzles in one complete package — normally $19.99, free this week.
What happens if I miss the October 22 deadline?
The games return to full price: $12.99 for Bad Cheese and $19.99 for Agent A. Your realistic Plan B is waiting for a sale — Bad Cheese on Steam regularly discounts — or wishlisting both to catch the next price drop. Agent A also lives on mobile app stores if you would rather pay a few dollars there than miss it entirely.
What will be free on Epic next week?
Epic announces the next pair when the current window ends, so nothing is confirmed yet. Based on the store's Thursday cadence, expect the next drop on October 22 around 11:00 AM ET. We tracked the last several rotations in our Alone With You freebie report, and the announcement pattern has been consistent for months.
Similar Deals Worth Checking Out
Free Keebler Chips Deluxe cookies via daily Gopuff drops through October 31.
A free AESTURA skincare sample program we verified earlier this season.
Xbox Free Play Days with ARC Raiders open to everyone, if you want console freebies instead of PC keepers.
The Breathedge free game window from September, in case you missed it and want more background on the program.
Rival Stars Horse Racing free in the same weekly rotation, for a sense of what else Epic has given away.
About Epic Games Store
Epic Games Store is the PC storefront run by Epic Games, the studio behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine. Its free games program launched in 2019 as a customer-acquisition play against larger PC marketplaces and has since handed out more than 250 full games.
The store adds new free titles every Thursday at 11:00 AM ET, and claimed titles remain in your library permanently. You can browse current offers on the official free games page.
Why does Epic keep paying for this? Every free claim is a new account with a payment profile attached, and the store's 88/12 revenue split for developers keeps indies like Yak & Co and Feardemic willing to hand over copies.
A free week is marketing: the Bad Cheese product page keeps its wishlist and review traffic long after the giveaway ends, and wishlists convert to sales during the next discount cycle.
Sources & References
Epic Games Store free games page — current promotion window and pricing.
Bad Cheese on the Epic Games Store — $12.99 list price, free through October 22.
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise on Epic — $19.99 list price, free through October 22.
Bad Cheese on Steam — developer, publisher, release date, and review scores.
Yak & Co official site — studio background and Agent A award history.
Agent A press kit from Yak & Co — AGDA Game of the Year and mobile rating figures.
