Epic Games Store has two free games this week: Astrea and Mechabellum

The September 24 rotation brings two games

Epic's storefront currently lists Mindcop and Shogun Showdown under “Free Now,” both ending on September 24. The next pair is already displayed alongside them: Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles and Mechabellum, each scheduled to be free from September 24 until October 1.

That makes today's timing worth spelling out. The new games are attached to the September 24 weekly refresh rather than a universal midnight unlock. Until Epic flips the promotion over, the outgoing pair remains the one available to claim.

Astrea builds a deck out of dice

Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles takes the familiar roguelike deckbuilder structure and swaps the cards for dice. Developer Little Leo Games built each of its six Oracles around different dice sets, abilities and play styles, while runs involve collecting and modifying new faces to shape a build.

Its Purification and Corruption system makes those rolls less straightforward than simply hunting for damage. Purification can hurt enemies or restore the player, while Corruption can harm the player or help an opponent. Taking Corruption can also activate abilities tied to the character's health system, turning what would normally be a mistake into part of a deliberate strategy.

Astrea originally launched on PC in September 2023. The Epic Games Store lists it as a single-player adventure and card game with cloud save support.

Mechabellum is about formations, counters and very large machines

Mechabellum comes from almost the opposite direction. Players assemble a mechanized army, choose where units deploy and prepare counters before watching the battle resolve. The important work happens in the decisions between rounds rather than through rapid unit micromanagement.

Game River has expanded the game across ranked 1v1 matches, 2v2, free-for-all battles and Survival modes for solo or cooperative play. Units can be customized with technologies that alter how they function, which means an apparently familiar army can change considerably as a match develops.

Dreamhaven now publishes Mechabellum. Its current official description leans heavily on the same idea that defines the game in practice: strategy first, clicking second.

There is little reason to choose only one

The useful part of Epic's giveaway model is that these are claims, not weekend trials. Add the games to an account during the promotional window and they remain in that library afterward. Astrea is the compact single-player option for people who enjoy systems that become increasingly strange the longer they stare at them; Mechabellum is for anyone who considers rearranging thirty robots before pressing “fight” a perfectly reasonable evening.

Both upcoming offers are listed through October 1. Before the September 24 refresh happens, Mindcop and Shogun Showdown are still the outgoing games worth checking if either has not been claimed yet.