Civilization 6 Platinum Edition goes free to kick off Epic's 2025 Summer Sale

The Steam Summer Sale is over, but that doesn't mean that opportunities to snag cheap games you'll probably never play are over—or free ones, for that matter. The Epic Games Store's 2025 Summer Sale kicked off today with a nice array of deals, a big boost to Epic Rewards, and a very nice freebie to get things started: Civilization 6 Platinum Edition, which includes the base game, the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm expansions, and six DLC packs.

That's a hell of a deal, to put it bluntly: The Civilization 6 Platinum Edition normally goes for $80 and you can have it for $0 until July 24. This isn't the first time Civ 6 has gone free on Epic, but the last time it happened—in 2020—it was only the base game. So even if you already own it, the Platinum Edition is a not-to-be-missed giveaway. (And yes, you'll still be able to add it to your library even if you already own the base game.)

There are some non-free good deals to be had in Epic's Summer Sale too. As usual, Epic doesn't offer the raw deep discounts that Steam does in its bargain bonanzas, but there are definitely deals to be had: It Takes Two for $12, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for $14, Alan Wake Remastered for $4.49, Far Cry 5 for $9, Dragon Age: The Veilguard for $30, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak for $5, and Titanfall 2 Ultimate Edition for $4.49.

A little tip if you're digging for the real cheap stuff: Epic's browsing tools aren't nearly as robust as those of Steam, but if you select "Summer Sale" from the Events dropdown on the browsing page, you can then select the price range you're looking for and it will filter based only on games in the sale, which will exclude a lot of the chaff on Epic that normally comes in under a fiver anyway.

In case I explained it poorly, it looks like this:

(This is where I like to shop.)

Epic makes up for its relatively modest discounts with its rewards program, which has been boosted for the Summer Sale. 20% of your purchases on the store—games, add-ons, and virtual currency—will be automatically returned to you in the form of "rewards" (hence the name, Epic Rewards) that can be used for other purchases. So, buy The Veilguard for $30, get $6 back, and you can have Titanfall 2 for free—or whatever turns your crank. It's a bit more mathematically complicated than just hacking down prices, but it can sometimes work out to be a better deal than other storefronts in the long run.

The Epic Games Store's 2025 Summer Sale runs until August 1, but be aware that the Civilization 6 Platinum Edition giveaway is only on until July 24. Get it while you can. The next Steam Sale dates for storewide discounts are a ways away: the autumn sale won't start until late September.