SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 ― One of the biggest video games of all time, Grand Theft Auto V, is the Epic Games Store's latest weekly giveaway, good until May 21, 2020.
Released in 2013 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and then, over the next few years, on PS4, Xbox One, and eventually PC, go-anywhere, do-anything sandbox Grand Theft Auto V ― served up with a hefty splash of emergent interpersonal chaos ― has sold over 120 million copies between then and now.
If there's anyone who doesn't already have it, or would like it on PC for nothing but the price of their personal user data and a smidgen of psychological fidelity, it's free on the Epic Games Store until May 21.
At the end of April, Epic began a month of enforced Two-Factor Authorization (2FA) for its mass of free game collectors, and GTA V adds to the incentive.
The security measure makes it more difficult for malicious parties to steal and sell accounts that, by now, may well be stuffed with over a thousand dollars' worth of weekly store freebies, not to mention assorted items accumulated from Epic's fortune-changing smash “Fortnite.”
The timing also loosely coincides with GTA V disappearing from Xbox's value-focused subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, where it had resided from January to early May; Rockstar replaced it with the more recent but no less expansive Wild West trek Red Dead Redemption II.
Of course, both games sport ample multiplayer options and, with them, multiple avenues for microtransaction revenue.
Turning away from the sprawling coastal spread of GTA V, leaving aside any speculation that it arrives ahead of a GTA 6 announcement, and looking to consoles, this week saw the release of a brightly coloured island exploration game as published by a UK banking giant.
Island Saver is all about cleaning up a group of islands so that plant and animal life (or bankimal life) can once again prosper.
As well as all the recycling, there's also a little something about saving the Savvy Islands and saving coins at the same time.
Spun up by Scotland's Stormcloud Games for NatWest Bank, Island Saver is a free download for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via Steam); Dinosaur Island costs US$4.99 (RM21.67).
On Android, there's the nonogram picture puzzle suite “Pixelo” among the regular tide of temporary free offers, while iOS users can snag the mobile version of acclaimed horror adventure “Distraint” for free for a limited time.
Both systems are now a platform for KartRider Rush+, aka the fiercest competition for Mario Kart Tour, marking an international debut for Korea's popular kart-racing sensation which released earlier this week. ― AFP-Relaxnews
