Free strategy game giveaway sees players surge 1,000% on Steam, but act fast

You can’t argue with a free 4X strategy game. You also can’t argue with a free Warhammer 40k game either. Luckily enough then, you’ve still got a few days to redeem Warhammer 40k: Gladius – Relics of War for free on any of the major PC storefronts. The grimdark sci-fi of Space Marines picked up the core tenants of explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate a few years ago, and now you can own it on Steam for free.

You’ve not got long to claim Warhammer 40k Gladius for free, and it’s even one of the best Warhammer 40k games you can play today. Set on the titular planet of Gladius Prime, archaeological interest quickly leads to ancient horrors (as they are wont to do), and now you have to choose between the Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, or Astra Militarium as you fight for survival and control.

You’ll construct cities filled with factories, mine for resources, train up troops, and acquire more technologies to become Gladius Prime’s unstoppable force – soon not even an immovable object can stand in your way. With a different storyline for each faction and co-op/multiplayer available, the renewed interest in Gladius presents the perfect time to try it out with some friends – whether you want to work with them or curb stomp them into dust.

The playercount for Gladius has also shot up on Steam, as the 2018 4X game has gone from averaging around 500 players at any one moment to over 5,500 as I write this. That’s a 1,000% increase in just a few short days. Of course, this doesn’t account for the GOG or EGS giveaway as well, and I’m certain these numbers will flatten back out, but you can’t argue with a free game.

Gladius developer Proxy Studios is even making its own 4X game too, and you can try the demo for Zephon right now for free. Taking part in an apocalyptic conflict between humans, cyborgs, and aliens, you’ll need to try and reclaim the Earth.

Warhammer 40k: Gladius – Relics of War is free to keep on PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store until Thursday May 30. You can find the game on Steam right here, before you’ll end up having to pay $40 for it again.

Otherwise, we’ve got the best strategy games and grand strategy games to keep you busy, but you can’t argue with a game being free, can you?

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