Free to Keep on Steam means a paid game is free for a limited time, and if you claim it before the offer ends, it stays in your library permanently. That's the difference from a Free Weekend, which only lends you the game for a few days, and from free-to-play games, which are free all the time. One catch Valve documents but few people mention: games you got through Free to Keep don't drop trading cards.
Steam's three kinds of free games, compared
Steam uses the word "free" for three different things, and each one gives you a different license. Valve's developer documentation defines all three, so these rules are the same for every game:
| Free to Keep | Free Weekend | Free-to-play | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | A permanent license to a paid game | Temporary access to a paid game | A permanent license to a free game |
| How long it's free | Limited time, at least 24 hours | Usually Thursday to Monday | Always |
| Do you keep it? | Yes, if you claim it in time | No, you have to buy it | Yes |
| Trading card drops | No | No, unless you buy the game | Yes, based on in-game spending |
| Reviews count toward the score | No (labeled as a free license) | Only if you buy the game | Yes |
The rest of this post goes through each one, then how cards, achievements and playtime work for each.
What Free to Keep means
Free to Keep is a time-limited giveaway of a paid game. Valve's Steamworks documentation describes it as "a time-limited promotion that allows a player to permanently acquire a license for a game for free". You claim it from the game's store page while the offer is running, and the license stays on your account after the price goes back up.
A few rules apply to every Free to Keep offer:
- It runs for at least 24 hours, so players in every time zone get a chance. Valve recommends developers keep it under two weeks.
- You get the whole game. Developers can't hold back content from people who claimed it for free.
- Valve sets it up, not the developer. The Steam team creates a special Free to Keep package and turns it on and off. When the offer ends, the free package disappears from the store page.
- You have to claim it. Playing nothing changes nothing. If you don't click to add it during the offer, you don't get it.
Valve itself compares Free to Keep to "a time-limited giveaway or a 100% discount". On the store, that's what it looks like: a paid game priced at $0.00 for a short time.
How Steam Free Weekends work
A Free Weekend lets you play a paid game for a few days without buying it. According to Valve's Free Weekend documentation, it grants "full access to your base game via its current app ID, albeit for a limited time". You install and play the real game, not a demo.
- Timing: Free Weekends usually run from Thursday at 10 AM Pacific to Monday at 10 AM Pacific. A game can run one at most once per calendar year.
- When it ends: the game stays listed in your library, but you can only uninstall it. Playing again means buying it.
- Base game: Valve's documentation describes the free access as covering the base game.
Because a Free Weekend runs the game under its normal app ID, it records your play the same way a purchased copy does. Steam keeps achievements on your account, not on the copy you own: Steam Support says "achievements are tied to individual Steam accounts". Valve doesn't document what happens to your progress when you buy the game later, though, and saves depend on each game. Publishers usually say in the Free Weekend announcement whether progress carries over, so check that before you put hours in.
Free-to-play games
Free-to-play games have no price at all. Valve's Free to Keep documentation contrasts the two: a free-to-play game is "permanently free for customers to acquire". You can add one to your library whenever you want, and it stays there.
Free-to-play games can have trading cards, but they work differently. Steam's trading card FAQ says "free to play games drop game cards based on your in-game purchasing": about one card drop for every $9 USD spent. If you never spend anything, you never get drops. Free-to-play games also can't be shared through Steam Families, and neither can DLC bought for them.
What you don't get from a free game
Cards and reviews are where the three kinds of free differ most, and both are documented by Valve.
Trading cards
Free to Keep and Free Weekend games don't give card drops, and free-to-play games only give them if you spend money:
- Free to Keep: "Trading cards will not drop for customers who own the game through a Free to Keep package." You keep the game, but its cards have to come from trading, the Community Market or booster packs.
- Free Weekend: "Trading cards will not drop for a player unless they have purchased the game on Steam or activated a key for the game." If you buy the game, drops work as normal.
- Free-to-play: drops come from spending, as above.
So claiming a Free to Keep game won't help you level up through card drops. You can still craft its badge if you collect the cards another way. For how drops, booster packs and badges fit together, see how Steam trading cards work.
Reviews
You can review a game you got for free, but it won't move the score. Free to Keep reviews are "categorized as a free license" and don't factor into the game's review score. Free Weekend reviews are labeled as a non-Steam purchase and only count if you go on to buy the game.
Playtime and achievements
Playtime and achievements are recorded the normal way for all three, because Steam tracks them per account and per game. A Free to Keep game is a full, permanent license, so there's nothing to lose. A Free Weekend is the only case where it matters what happens next, and as covered above, that depends on the game. Steam counts playtime for any game it's told is running, which we explain in how Steam tracks playtime.
Why Free to Keep games are easy to miss
Valve's documentation says that "by default, Free to Keeps are not promoted anywhere on the Store, aside from your game's own store page," and that "customers that have your game on their Wishlist are not notified." Since an offer can last as little as 24 hours, you can miss a game you wanted without ever hearing about it.
What this means for Steam Game Idler
Steam Game Idler's Free Games page lists exactly the kind of free game this post calls Free to Keep. It searches the Steam store for paid games that are currently discounted to free, and only games, so free-to-play titles and DLC never appear in the list. Games you already own are left out too. The What Counts as a Free Game page has the details.
You can claim a listed game with its Claim button, which adds the license to your account the same way the store's own button does. With Steam Sign-in there's no extra step. With Local Sign-in, a Steam login window may open the first time so the app can claim on the store for you. In Settings → Free Games, two options cover the "easy to miss" problem:
- Free game notifications tells you when a new free game shows up. It's available on every plan.
- Auto-redeem free games claims newly found free games for you. This one is part of the Gamer plan.
The trading card rule matters for card farming. Steam Game Idler only farms games that Steam's badge page says have card drops remaining, so it won't spend time idling a Free to Keep game for cards it can never drop. If you want to build playtime or work on achievements in a game you claimed, those work the same as for any other game you own. Download Steam Game Idler to try the Free Games page.
FAQ
What does Free to Keep mean on Steam?
It means a paid game is free for a limited time, and if you add it to your account before the offer ends, you own it permanently. Valve requires every Free to Keep offer to run for at least 24 hours.
What is the difference between free to play and Free to Keep?
A free-to-play game is always free and has no price. A Free to Keep game normally costs money but is given away for a short time. Free-to-play games can drop trading cards based on in-game spending, while Free to Keep games don't drop cards at all.
Do you keep a game after a Steam Free Weekend?
No. A Free Weekend gives you a temporary license. When it ends, the game stays in your library, but you can only uninstall it until you buy it.
Do you keep achievements from a Steam Free Weekend?
Steam stores achievements on your account, so anything you unlock during a Free Weekend is recorded. Valve doesn't document whether all progress carries over if you buy the game later, and saves depend on the game. The publisher's Free Weekend announcement usually says.
Do Free to Keep games give trading cards?
No. Valve's Steamworks documentation says trading cards don't drop for players who own a game through a Free to Keep package. You can still collect its cards by trading, buying them on the Community Market or getting booster packs.
Can you get trading cards from a free weekend?
Not during the free weekend itself. Cards only drop once you buy the game on Steam or activate a key for it.
Sources
- Valve, Steamworks Documentation: Free to Keep, accessed November 6, 2026.
- Valve, Steamworks Documentation: Free Weekends, accessed November 6, 2026.
- Valve, Steam Trading Cards FAQ, accessed November 6, 2026.
- Steam Support, Steam Families, accessed November 6, 2026.
- Free Games
- Trading Cards
Creator and maintainer of Steam Game Idler.
