Steam Officially Makes 9/10 2026 Game Permanently Free To Keep

Published Oct 22, 2026, 11:46 AM EDT

Lee D’Amato is a writer born, raised, and based in Queens, New York. With collective thousands of hours in games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Elden Ring, and The Legend of Zelda, he's now writes game features, guides, and reviews for Screen Rant, but has covered a wide range of topics, including ancient history, affordable travel, and overall health.

It's a great time to be on Steam. The PC game storefront recently completed its annual Autumn Sale, which saw major releases like Monster Hunter Rise and The Outlast Trials go on deep discount. It's now in the midst of Next Fest, when a variety of upcoming games are showcased in free demos.

If you've been engrossed by all your new library additions, you'd be forgiven for missing this smaller item of Steam news: an excellent indie game, released earlier this year, has now been made available at no cost. It's totally free to keep forever, even with some great replay value and a fun multiplayer mode.

Shenaniguns, an indie, top-down shooter by indie dev coding398, was released on January 19, 2026, priced at $6.99. It's now totally free to add to your Steam library and keep forever, although it's not clear how long this deal is expected to last.

Shenaniguns is sort of like an extra chaotic, multiplayer version of Hotline Miami: you control a gun-wielding character in a top-down setting where your goal is to be the last person standing. The difference is that the guns and items you find are totally random, and there's

a whole lot of them to try out. Lots of items have wacky effects that you'll just have to experience for yourself to understand.

The effect is one of a frantic multiplayer bullet hell game; you'll dance around a variety of arenas, trying to avoid getting hit while you customize your loadout and attempt to keep your aim steady. Some reviewers compared Shenaniguns to the Roblox game Item Asylum, which offers similarly chaotic, randomized gameplay, albeit not in a top-down perspective.

With random items, zany abilities, and short matches, Shenaniguns is designed for quick, hop-on hop-off gameplay. You can pick up the basics in just a couple of minutes, but the randomization allows for endless fun.

There is one caveat: with your redemption of a free copy of Shenaniguns, you won't have access to all the game's features. Things like private lobbies and in-game cosmetics are locked behind a paid DLC — simply called Magic — that goes for $3.99. Buying this DLC also allows you to vote twice on which map to play next, and gives you a tag in the in-game chat.

The private server feature is pretty extensive; it gives you access to lots of different game settings, allowing you to spawn items, bosses, and weapons at will. But it's really only worth it if you have a large enough group of friends, and really, there's nothing to stop you from downloading the free version, playing as long as you like, and then deciding whether it's worth picking up the DLC.

This is the third game by coding398, who previously put out the absurd Suika game clone Dodecadone and the desktop companion Desktop Mark. All three are now free to claim and keep on Steam.