Skyrim: Special Edition is free to play on Xbox One and PC this weekend
If you're one of the six people left on Earth who haven't played Skyrim yet, then Microsoft, Valve, and Bethesda have some very exciting news for you. Skyrim: Special Edition will be free to play this weekend on Xbox One and Steam, giving you the chance to dive into the cold, harsh lands of Skyrim at no initial cost. This free weekend is already underway, so you can download the game now and start playing right away.
Though Skyrim seems like a strange game to get a free weekend, it makes a lot of sense. After all, The Elder Scrolls series in general is known for its immersive and addicting gameplay, so giving players a free taste for a weekend is a great way to secure some additional sales. Skyrim is certainly no different in that regard, though again, it's difficult to imagine that there are too many Skyrim newbies left given the sheer number of platforms the game has been available on.
If you decide to try out Skyrim and you get hooked, you'll be able to pick it up on the cheap too. Bethesda has put Skyrim: Special Edition on sale for 50% off until September 18, bringing its price down to $30 on Xbox One and $20 on Steam. The progress you make while the game is free will carry over too, let you pick up right where you left off if you choose to buy the game.
It should be noted that this free to play promotion is only open to Xbox One players who own Xbox Live Gold. Even if you don't currently have Gold, however, you can always purchase a month in order to try out Skyrim – if you decide to buy Skyrim on sale, you'll still have spent less money than you would have buying Skyrim: Special Edition at full price.
While Steam's free weekend ends at 1 PM Pacific on Sunday, it runs until Sunday at 11:59 PM Pacific on Xbox One, so you Xbox Players really do have the entire weekend to take Skyrim for a spin. Bethesda even seems to suggest on Twitter that more free weekends will be coming by calling this one its "first," so perhaps we can look forward to free Fallout 4 somewhere down the line? We'll see, but for now, head down to comments section and let us know if you've managed to avoid Skyrim for the past 6 years.