Grand Theft Auto 5 is free right now when you log into the Epic Games Store and enable two-factor authentication. Sadly for anyone that wanted to snag a copy real quick, the first 12 hours of the deal it was virtually impossible to do so. Why? The iconic seven-year-old sandbox game by Rockstar was apparently so popular, that it broke the virtual store for hours. A similar thing happened to Steam recently, though in that case gamers were buying a game when the store overloaded.
Grand Theft Auto 5 free
Epic Games has been trying to attract gamers from Steam and other virtual stores by handing out free games every week. This week, a fan favorite became available for free: Grand Theft Auto 5. Like we said, you only need an account and enable two-factor authentication to download Rockstar’s masterpiece. And you can keep the game forever!
It broke the Epic Games Store
But even though this game has been a bestseller throughout it’s lifespan, people still wanted it so badly that they overloaded Epic’s servers. The Store was mostly unreachable, with error messages and insane loading times preventing gamers from getting Grand Theft Auto 5 for free. As of writing this, Epic seems to have fixes the problem.
We've deployed updates to provide resolution for these issues, and most users should be able to access the Epic Games Store and Launcher at this time. We'll continue to monitor traffic and provide updates if further issues are encountered. Thank you for your continued patience!
— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) May 15, 2020
Lots of goodies
Another reason why many gamers might have wanted to get a copy of GTAV, is because Epic is giving away the Premium Edition. That version of Grand Theft Auto 5 features the full base game (obviously), normally prices at $29,99. Additionally, players get the Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack. The latter normally costs ten bucks and gives you a significant edge in the online portion of the game, GTA Online.
In fact, we’d argue that it is almost a necessity to get that head start now. Starting out in GTA Online can be a very grind-intensive experience. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when a player is terrorizing a server with a JoBuilt P-996 Lazer and you only have a pistol to defend yourself with, you’re in for a bad time.
With the Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack you immediately receive 1,000,000 GTA$, a 10 car garage, a bunch of cars and motorcycles, and the spacious Maze Bank West Executive Office. But more importantly, you get a way to make a buck quickly right away. You get the Paleto Forest Gunrunning Bunker, Senora Desert Counterfeit Cash Factory, and the Great Chaparral Biker Clubhouse for free.
How long is Grand Theft Auto 5 free?
As always, you can download the free games from Epic Games Store for a week and keep it forever. The deal runs through Thursday, May 21.
Meanwhile, Epic’s mailbox probably flooded with something other than complaints of the Store not working. Instead, gamers were undoubtedly spamming the company with praise for their recent Unreal Engine 5 PlayStation 5 gameplay reveal.
Image credit: Rockstar Games