Two free games, one deadline
Here’s how to claim this week’s free Epic Games Store games, Flotsam and Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, on the website or in the Epic Games Launcher. Epic’s store lists both offers running from Thursday 5 November 2026 at 16:00 UTC until Thursday 12 November 2026 at 16:00 UTC, which gives you a full week and no excuse to forget. We’d grab both, even if only one of them appeals.
One timing note first: the previous free game, Sorry We’re Closed, ends at 16:00 UTC on 5 November, the same moment the new pair unlock. If you haven’t claimed it yet, do that before 16:00 UTC. (If a game ever refuses to start after you install it, our guide to verifying game files on Steam and the Epic Games Launcher is the first fix to try.)
Claiming on the Epic website
- Open the store page for the game (Flotsam or Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms) at store.epicgames.com, or go through Epic’s Free Games page.
- Sign in with your Epic account. Flotsam’s page lists an Epic ID as the required login.
- Click Get on the game’s page. Flotsam shows as coming soon until its offer starts at 16:00 UTC, so refresh the page after that if the button isn’t there yet.
- Confirm the order at the checkout step. With the price at nothing, there’s no payment to enter.
- Repeat for the second game. Each one is claimed separately.
That’s the whole trick. If a page still shows the old state, wait a minute and reload rather than clicking around.
Claiming in the Epic Games Launcher
The launcher works the same way. Open the Epic Games Launcher, sign in, find the game in the store (the Free Games listing is the quickest route), and use the same Get button, then confirm the order. Once it’s in your library you can install it whenever you like. Epic also says on its Free Games page that a new free game arrives every Thursday on PC and mobile, so this is a weekly habit worth building. Prefer to compare launchers first? We looked at Epic’s claim that its new launcher beats Steam last month.
What free to keep means
Free to keep means you claim the game during the offer window and it stays in your Epic library afterwards. The window matters, not the install: you don’t have to download either game this week, you only have to claim it before 16:00 UTC on 12 November. It’s the opposite of a free weekend, where access vanishes when the clock runs out. For one of those, see our note on Football Manager 27 free until 3 November.
Flotsam is the weekend pick
Flotsam, from Pajama Llama Games and published by Stray Fawn Publishing, is a single-player city-builder with exploration and survival. Epic’s description has you sail, scavenge and rescue survivors across a floating garbage sea, turning floating plastic and driftwood into homes, workshops and gardens. Drifters have their own stories, and you research cleaner tech along the way. The store page lists cloud saves and controller support, and the stated minimum is modest: a GTX 650-class GPU, an Intel Core i5-class CPU and 8GB of memory on Windows.
This is a pick based on the premise. But a cosy, low-stress builder with a place to disappear into for a weekend is exactly what a free week is for, and it’s the one we’d start first.
Idle Champions comes with a bonus
Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, from Codename Entertainment, is a Dungeons & Dragons strategy management game. Epic describes more than 140 Champions, formation-building, and characters that keep fighting automatically, even if you close the game. Its store page already lists the game as free, with in-game purchases that include random items, so the weekly promotion is really about the extra.
According to the Epic page, logging in via the Epic Games Store between 5 November and 12 November claims Morte’s Champions of Renown Pack. It unlocks Morte, Nordom, Donaar, Sentry and Sheila, with 32 Platinum Chests each, two week-long potions and an exclusive Kapak Draconian familiar. Treat that as Epic’s description, and check the store listing for the exact claim wording before the deadline.
Claim both, play one
The cost of claiming both is two clicks each. The cost of skipping one is that the offer is gone at 16:00 UTC on Thursday 12 November, and then it’s an ordinary store listing again. Claim Flotsam and Idle Champions now, install Flotsam this weekend, and leave the champions for when you want something that runs in the background.
