The Epic Games Store added two free permanent games to its weekly giveaway on August 6: Beacon Pines, an acclaimed solo narrative adventure worth $19.99, and We Were Here Together, a cross-platform co-op puzzle game worth $12.99. Both are free to claim and keep until August 13 at 11 a.m. ET — after which the window closes permanently and neither offer returns.

The two games combine for $32.98 in retail value. Critically, We Were Here Together supports cross-play across PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, meaning a reader who claims the free PC copy this week can immediately pair up with a partner who already owns the game on console — no second copy required. The Epic Games Store listing confirms cross-platform co-op as a supported feature.

Beacon Pines: Storybook Horror With a Novel Mechanic

Beacon Pines is a single-player narrative adventure developed by Chicago-based indie studio Hiding Spot Games and published by Fellow Traveller. The Fellow Traveller publisher page confirms the partnership. It carries an 81 average on OpenCritic — where 86% of critics recommend it — and "Overwhelmingly Positive" user reviews on Steam. The full critic score breakdown is available on OpenCritic. Released on September 22, 2022, it has earned Metacritic scores of 83 on PC, 84 on Nintendo Switch, and 88 on Xbox.

The game unfolds entirely inside an illustrated storybook. Players control both the reader navigating the book's chapters and Luka, a young animal-world boy investigating a series of unsettling events in the small mountain town of Beacon Pines. Hiding Spot Games has described the tone as "Winnie-the-Pooh meets Twin Peaks" — whimsical on the surface, quietly disturbing underneath. The official Hiding Spot Games game page uses exactly this description.

What makes Beacon Pines structurally unusual is its Charm system. As players explore the town, they collect golden charms engraved with individual words. At key "Turning Points" in the story, they insert a Charm into a blank in the narrative — each choice producing a different outcome, which in turn unlocks new Charms for use in other story branches. Co-writer Brent Calhoun described the structure in a 2022 ResetEra review thread as a "Metroidvania map" in narrative form: earlier branches unlock vocabulary needed to navigate later ones.

The cast consists entirely of anthropomorphized animals — a detail the game never explains, which somehow makes it work.

We Were Here Together: Escape Room Built on Communication

We Were Here Together is a co-op-only first-person puzzle adventure from Dutch studio Total Mayhem Games. The developer's official game page covers the full feature set. Released October 10, 2019, it is the third entry in the We Were Here series, which originated as a student project at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences in 2017 and has accumulated nearly 10 million players worldwide. The We Were Here series Wikipedia page covers the full series history.

The premise: a distress flare lights the Antarctic sky, and two players who respond to the rescue call find themselves separated inside a medieval structure called Castle Rock. The core mechanic is strict asymmetry — each player sees a different room, different objects, different puzzle components, and must describe what they're looking at to their partner over an in-game walkie-talkie. Nothing is shared on screen. Progress requires talking.

Total Mayhem released a significant Legacy Update in October 2025 that addressed earlier performance issues, upgraded the game's visuals, and refined the user interface — resolving criticisms that had driven the game's mixed professional review scores. The current Steam store page reflects the state of the game post-update. The game sits at a 67 average on OpenCritic, but 82% positive among Steam's 16,000+ user reviews. Critics who struggled with obscure puzzles and clunky UI at launch may find the current build a more forgiving experience.

Cross-play removes the dual-PC barrier. The game supports cross-platform co-op between PC (both Epic Games Store and Steam), Mac, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Series, and Nintendo Switch. A reader who claims the free PC copy this week can immediately play with any partner who already owns the game on console. Both players still need a working microphone and an internet connection — the communication mechanic is not optional.

This is the first time We Were Here Together has received a full seven-day claiming window on the Epic Games Store. Its prior Epic appearance was a single 24-hour window during the platform's 2025 holiday giveaway on December 26, as covered in a GameRant holiday 2025 report.

What's Waiting Next Week

Epic has already confirmed the following week's free game. Starting August 13 at 11 a.m. ET, Caravan SandWitch will take the spotlight — a narrative-driven exploration game from French indie studio Studio Plane Toast set on a semi-deserted sci-fi planet visually inspired by the landscapes of Provence. The GameSpew review of Caravan SandWitch offers a comprehensive look at the game. Players drive a customizable van across deserts and abandoned ruins in search of a missing sister named Garance, meeting communities of humans, robots, and native inhabitants along the way. The game features no combat, no death states, and no timers. It will be free through August 20 at 11 a.m. ET.

How to Claim

Open the Epic Games Store launcher on PC — or visit the storefront at epicgames.com — navigate to the Free Games section, and click "Get." Both titles are added to your library permanently at no cost. No subscription is required; only a free Epic account.

The deadline is August 13, 2026 at 11 a.m. ET. Epic giveaways do not return after the window closes, and missed windows do not roll over.

Beacon Pines is available on Windows PC via Epic. We Were Here Together is available on Windows PC via Epic, with cross-play support for Steam, Mac, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series, and Nintendo Switch owners.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Do both players need to own We Were Here Together on PC to play together?

No. We Were Here Together supports full cross-platform play, meaning one player can claim the free PC copy this week while their partner plays on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Mac, or Steam. The Epic Games Store listing confirms cross-platform co-op as a supported feature. Both players still need a working microphone and an internet connection — voice communication is the game's entire mechanic, not an optional feature.

Is Beacon Pines worth playing if I don't usually play narrative games?

The game runs roughly four to six hours, is fully playable with no prior genre experience, and has the lowest possible PC system requirements (no dedicated GPU, 2GB RAM). Its charm mechanic offers a genuinely novel branching narrative structure — not simply button prompts, but a vocabulary-collection system that changes available story branches. The 86% recommendation rate on OpenCritic reflects broadly favorable reception across gaming outlets with different genre preferences.

What happens if I claim We Were Here Together now but don't have a co-op partner yet?

The game stays in your Epic library permanently — there is no expiration on claimed games, only on the claiming window (August 13). Claim it now for free, and find a partner later. The original We Were Here on Steam remains free to play as of 2026 and can serve as a low-stakes introduction to the communication-puzzle format before investing time in the third entry.

What is Caravan SandWitch, and is it a similar kind of game?

Caravan SandWitch shares the narrative-exploration tone of Beacon Pines but is structurally quite different. It is an open-world third-person exploration game with van customization, side quests, and a sci-fi setting — no combat, no death, no time pressure. It released in 2024 to favorable reviews and will be free for one week starting August 13. The GameSpew Caravan SandWitch review covers the full experience.