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I don’t have a vested interest in Amazon. Although I wish I’d bought shares in the monolithic company 10 or 15 years ago, I didn’t. And I’m not (unfortunately) on first-name terms with Jeff. So when I say Prime Gaming’s game giveaways are outstanding and shouldn’t be missed, I mean it. Over the last few months, Amazon has seriously ramped up its Prime Gaming offerings, to the point where it’s one of the best value services for PC games.
Prime Position
As the second largest company in the world by revenue, it’s hardly a surprise that Amazon dabbles in the video games industry. Arguably, it’s more surprising that its efforts at development have resulted in a mixed bag. However, the massive multiplayer games New World Aeternum and Throne and Liberty are steps in the right direction.
Historically, though, Amazon hasn’t been a big player in the domain of video game distribution. Steam is obviously the big player in that space, and it’s hard to imagine that changing anytime soon. But while I’ve noticed that Epic Games has garnered significant attention for its free giveaways, and rightly so given they’re actually free with no subscription required, Amazon’s Prime Gaming giveaways don’t seem to be talked about a lot.
Now, to be clear, unlike with Epic Games, Prime Gaming’s offerings aren’t technically free. You need an Amazon Prime subscription to access Prime Gaming. But, come on, who doesn’t have Prime these days? At $14.99 a month, or a discounted annual price of $139, it’s not bad value. Of course, that allows you to purchase things without adding random garbage to your basket to take it up to the required for free shipping. And you also get Prime Video, which admittedly is very hit-and-miss, but it does have the God of War series coming. So that’s cool.
Prime Gaming, however, used to be a tacked-on extra that barely warranted special mention. It offered a handful of rather obscure indie games, some of which frankly made Nintendo Switch’s eShop shovelware look like original masterpieces. Put simply, that’s no longer the case. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription and you’re not taking advantage of Prime Gaming, you’re missing out big time.
Games Galore
At the time of writing, there are 72 games you can claim and keep forever on Prime Gaming. That’s right: 72. I may have miscounted, admittedly, but that’s a lot of games. Sure, some of them are on the more obscure side, but there are some absolute bangers on there.
Don’t believe me? How about A Plague Tale: Innocence? Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to give the Geiger-inspired Scorn a go? And if you’re into indie darlings, you really need to play Dredge or the underappreciated Metroidvania Ghost Song. Want bigger? How about Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, currently $30 on Steam?
See what I mean? And that’s just the currently available games. In the past, I’ve picked up such classics as Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, Prey, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. I’d have many more games in my libraries if I’d known about Prime Gaming earlier! Some of these titles have been given away by Epic Games, true, but Prime Gaming is far better for hidden gems and retro classics.
Speaking of libraries, that brings me on to how these games are claimed and where they’re installed from.
Play For Keeps
In terms of where Prime Gaming giveaways are installed and launched from, it’s a little more complicated. The only fly in the ointment is that some require Amazon’s rather clunky proprietary Amazon Games app. Although not a deal-breaker, it’s of course annoying to have yet another launcher for your PC games. Also, unfortunately, none of the games are redeemable directly on Steam.
There’s better news, though. Many of the titles actually redeem on the Epic Games Store when linked to your Epic account. Best of all, many of the older classics are redeemed on the DRM-free Good Old Games (GOG) store. With its focus on preserving classic games and its commitment to permanently DRM-free titles, GOG is arguably the best storefront for gamers. You actually own games you buy on GOG, rather than just having a license to play them.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Prime Gaming, actually, is that all of the games you claim are available to keep forever. Even if your Amazon Prime subscription expires, provided you’ve claimed a game, it should be available to install and play. Obviously this is the case for the GOG and Epic Games titles, since they’re redeemed on these storefronts. It’s a little less clear how the Amazon Games app works, but it should be the case that the games in that library should still be available if your Amazon Prime subscription expires.
The only exception to this is the games that you can stream via Amazon’s cloud gaming platform, Luna. I haven’t tried this feature, in fairness, since I have more than enough to play without it! But it includes an even greater selection of games, such as Hideo Kojima’s unforgettable Death Stranding.
All in all, Prime Gaming is a fantastic addition to an Amazon Prime subscription for gamers. Although not technically freebies, most people surely get Prime for the delivery and, perhaps, Prime Video elements. Prime Gaming’s frankly ludicrous offerings should be spoken about in the same conversation, though.
To repeat: currently, 72 games can be redeemed. Beats PlayStation Plus Essential, right?
