Xbox Giving Away Game for Free on Steam

June 5, 2026, 6:15am

Xbox is giving away one of its games from the Xbox One era for free via Steam until July 1, letting all PC gamers bypass a $20 purchase in the process. This a full free giveaway, not a free demo nor a free trial. And if redeemed in time, the PC game will become a permanent addition to your Steam library, as well as your Steam Deck library, as Valve lists the free Steam game as “Playable” on the machine. This is one step down from Verified, but at this point there is no reason to expect the PC game in question to ever be Steam Deck Verified.

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As noted, the free Steam game was released by Xbox during the Xbox One era, right at the tail end of it in August of 2020, a few months before the launch of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. This game is Tell Me Why from developer Don’t Nod Entertainment, which is not owned by Xbox, but teamed up with Xbox Game Studios for the release. Consequently, it is an Xbox console exclusive game. That said, it is not the studio’s best work nor its most popular work. The studio is probably best known for the Life Is Strange series; meanwhile, it’s released several games over the years that are better. That said, Tell Me Why does have its fans, hence its 80% approval rating on Steam, which is just barely enough to net it a “Very Positive” rating across nearly 8,000 user reviews. This is the second best rating a PC game can earn on the Valve platform.

Xbox Exclusive Game From the Studio Behind Life Is Strange

For those unfamiliar with the game, it is an adventure game where your choices matter. It follows the story of newly reunited twins Tyler and Aluson Ronan, who have a supernatural bond and must tap into it to unravel the memories and mysteries of their childhood in a small Alaskan town.

For those who decide to check out the Xbox console exclusive game six years after it was released, because it is free right now on Steam should expect a game that runs at about 9 to 14 hours long, primarily depending on how much optional content is engaged with.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the video game conversations over on the ComicBook Forum.