Xbox makes absolute banger game free, but you don't have forever

You can play an absolute banger of a game for free, but you don’t have long to experience one of the best horror games of all time.

It’s quite baffling to think that Alien: Isolation from SEGA and Creative Assembly, released well over a decade ago in October 2014, making it the perfect new horror game for Halloween.

To this day, Alien: Isolation has aged like a fine wine because not only does it look and play fantastically, but it’s still one of the scariest games that you’ll ever play.

Check out the Alien: Isolation trailer below!

"When she left Earth, Ellen Ripley promised her daughter she would return home to celebrate her 11th birthday. She never made it," reads the synopsis of Alien: Isolation.

"Fifteen years later, Amanda Ripley learns that the flight recorder from her mother’s ship has been recovered. Amanda enters Sevastopol space station to finally solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, only to confront an unknown menace."

Fans of the franchise were delighted with the announcement of Alien: Isolation 2 last year on the 10th anniversary of its first release. But at the time of writing, Alien: Isolation 2 does not have a release date.

If, for whatever reason, you’ve never played Alien: Isolation and you’re an Xbox gamer, now is the perfect time to pluck up the courage to see what all the fuss is about.

In celebration of ‘Alien Day’ (which is a thing), you can download and play Alien: Isolation for free this weekend, but only for a limited time.

Alien: Isolation is free from now until the end of play on Saturday, 26 April 2025 for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

During that time, it’s doubtful that you’ll get anywhere near completing its gruelling 20 (ish) hour campaign, but you’ll at the very least know whether or not you want to buy the full game.

If you do choose to buy Alien: Isolation, it’s currently discounted across all available platforms. On PC it’s £6.99 for the base game without DLC, £8.74 on Xbox, £5,99 on PlayStation and £9.99 on Nintendo Switch.