Steam Just Made 5 Games 100% Free to Keep

Steam has five games that recently dropped their price tags and became permanently free, including a tactical FPS that looks like a small-budget Bodycam replica. Not all free-to-keep opportunities come from limited-time promotions, and freebie enthusiasts should also keep an eye on Steam games that were once paid products but later went free-to-play.

One good example of a paid Steam game going free happened recently. A well-regarded 2D platformer called Hayfever suddenly removed its $14.99 USD price tag, allowing all PC users to play it at no cost. Now, Valve’s storefront has even more of these once-paid games on offer.

5 Steam Games Have Become Permanently Free

Image by GameRant

There are five indie games on Steam that have changed their business models from paid to free in recent months: Tactical Mission: Target Rush, JTTNR 2, Cosmo Chaser, Twin Trials, and Donut Smash. While most of them are tiny games with few user reviews, there are titles like Tactical Mission among them that deserve more attention. Players looking for information about each of the now-free games on the list can find more details below, including links to claim them.

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Gamoji

Guess the game from the emojis.

Guess the games from the emojis.

Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)Start

Gamoji

Guess the game from the emojis.

Tactical Mission: Target Rush

An FPS with Serious Bodycam Vibes

Put simply, Target Rush is a realistic first-person shooter game similar to Bodycam. It features several different modes across various shooting range layouts. In one of the modes, players need to fight back against a horde of zombies, giving the game a Back 4 Blood vibe. There is also a hostage rescue mode that allows players to brush up on their shooting skills against human enemies. Tactical Mission: Target Rush dropped its price tag and went free on September 1.

Journey Through The Nightmare Realm 2

A Bullet Hell Roguelite with Co-Op Support

JTTNR 2 is a retro-style bullet hell that supports local couch co-op. The gameplay consists of entering different maps and shooting targets while dodging their never-ending projectiles. The game is designed like an arcade machine, encouraging players to compete for the highest score on the leaderboard. There are also power-ups and abilities to use, like in most standard roguelite games. JTTNR 2 was released in 2025 and went free-to-play on August 24, 2026.

Cosmo Chaser

A Vertical Shooter with 360-Degree Battles

Vertical shoot ’em up games have never stopped being popular. There was even a brand-new game called Razing Core that recently came out on the Sega Master System, offering the same feel and look as actual 80s and 90s games in the genre. However, there are also games like Cosmo Chaser that take the tried-and-true formula of older games and add some modern spice to it. In Cosmo Chaser, players not only move vertically, but can also circle around giant space stations and continue the battle in 360-degree mode. The game also has some interesting boss fights that change the view from vertical to side-scrolling.

Twin Trials

An Interesting Genre Mashup

Twin Trials introduces experimental gameplay that mixes first-person shooter, 3D platformer, and arcade elements. Players wield a dual gun that can help unlock paths or destroy barricades. Meanwhile, the goal is to finish the parkour paths and score as many points as possible.

Donut Smash

Ninja Fruit, But with Donuts

The gameplay premise in Donut Smash is fairly straightforward: Donuts fall from the sky, and the player needs to smash them. However, the game might occasionally throw broccoli at them to test their reflexes, similar to how games like Ninja Fruit might throw a bomb at the player. Donut Smash was released in May 2026, but developer Enigma Verse decided to make it a free Steam game in August.