Steam is rolling out a new feature that allows developers and publishers to offer limited-time free trials for their games. The first title to have one is EA Motive’s Dead Space remake.
Motive released its remake of Dead Space in January to critical acclaim. Now, almost four months after launch, EA announced it is running a 20% off sale for Dead Space on Steam and is offering a free trial through May 29. Over the next two weeks, anyone with a Steam account can try out Dead Space for an hour and a half for free. Players do have to download the full game before starting the free trial and can then choose to purchase the full game once their 90 minutes are up.
Free periods for games aren’t exactly a new thing for Steam, but typically these came in the form of free weekends where players would get access to an entire game, like Crusader Kings III, for several days. From a publisher’s perspective, these aren’t the best fit for single-player games like Dead Space, as players could conceivably get through the 12-hour horror adventure over the course of a weekend and there isn’t a dedicated for interested players to try. This new free trial system allows EA to make the game free for a limited time but cut players off after 90 minutes, potentially drawing them in and convincing them to buy the full game in the process.
Dead Space is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game’s Steam sale and free trial will be available until May 29.
