If you haven’t played Warhammer Vermintide 2 yet, this weekend is your chance to fix that mistake without spending a dime. Fatshark announced the acclaimed first-person co-op horde shooter is completely free to keep on Steam until November 24, 2025 at 10 AM PST. Not a free weekend trial. Not a limited demo. The full game, permanently added to your library, forever. All you need to do is claim it before the deadline expires.
The giveaway celebrates 10 Years of Tide, marking a decade since the original Vermintide launched and established Fatshark’s formula of visceral melee combat against endless enemy hordes. The timing couldn’t be better for curious players to discover why Vermintide 2 earned overwhelmingly positive reviews, sold over 2 million copies, and maintains an active player base seven years after its 2018 launch. Especially since Fatshark just dropped a brand new free DLC this week bringing back one of the first game’s most beloved levels.
How to Claim Your Free Copy
The process is dead simple. Visit the Warhammer Vermintide 2 store page on Steam before November 24 at 10 AM PST. Click the button to add it to your library. That’s it. Once claimed, the game is yours forever with no subscriptions, no recurring fees, and no strings attached. You can download and play it whenever you want for as long as Steam exists.
The free offer only includes the base game without the mountain of DLC Fatshark has released over seven years of post-launch support. However, the developer slashed prices on all expansions and cosmetics to coincide with the giveaway. The Careers Bundle costs roughly $23, the Careers and Cosmetics Bundle runs about $55, and the Legacy Edition Bundle containing everything is around $65. For players who fall in love with the base game, catching up on content has never been more affordable.
The timing is perfect for building a squad. Fatshark explicitly encouraged players to seize the opportunity to get new friends into the rat-slaying hobby. Free game giveaways always spike player populations, making it easier to find teammates through matchmaking. The developers even temporarily re-enabled the infectiousness of the Fangtastic Fortitude portrait frame, meaning winning a match with someone wearing it will add the cosmetic to your collection through November 30.
Double XP Event Running
New players get an extra boost with double XP active until November 30, 2025. The increased experience gains help you level up characters faster, unlock talents, and climb the difficulty ladder more quickly. Combined with the population surge from the free giveaway, this represents the best time in years for newcomers to jump in and learn the game alongside other fresh players rather than getting carried or overwhelmed by veterans.
What Is Vermintide 2
Warhammer Vermintide 2 is a first-person co-op action game set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy universe. Four unlikely heroes form the Ubersreik 5 and fight through endless hordes of Skaven ratmen and Chaos forces during the apocalyptic End Times. If you’ve played Left 4 Dead, the structure will feel familiar. Four players team up, fight through levels filled with hordes of enemies plus special infected and bosses, complete objectives, and extract before you get overwhelmed.
What sets Vermintide apart is the emphasis on melee combat over shooting. You’ll spend most fights swinging swords, axes, hammers, and spears through tightly packed enemies in visceral close-quarters battles. Firearms exist but serve as secondary weapons for thinning hordes or sniping priority targets rather than primary damage sources. The melee focus creates dramatically different pacing and tactics compared to typical horde shooters.
The game features five playable heroes, each with four distinct career paths that fundamentally change their playstyles. Victor Saltzpyre the Witch Hunter, Markus Kruber the Empire Soldier, Bardin Goreksson the Dwarf Ranger, Kerillian the Wood Elf Waystalker, and Sienna Fuegonasus the Bright Wizard offer dramatically different combat approaches. Career choices further specialize each hero, creating 20 total playstyle combinations before even considering weapon variety and talent builds.
Deep Progression Systems
Vermintide 2 includes 15 different talent trees across the careers and over 50 weapon types to master. Each hero can equip melee and ranged weapons chosen from class-specific arsenals. A two-handed hammer plays completely differently than dual axes or sword and shield combinations. Finding your preferred loadout and building around it creates satisfying long-term goals beyond just reaching max level.
The difficulty progression spans five tiers: Recruit, Veteran, Champion, Legend, and Cataclysm. Lower difficulties let new players learn mechanics and enjoy power fantasy as they mow through enemies. Higher tiers demand coordination, precise execution, and thorough understanding of enemy behaviors and spawns. The jump from Legend to Cataclysm represents a massive skill check that separates casual players from dedicated veterans.
New Free DLC This Week
Fatshark released Return to the Reik as free DLC on November 20, 2025, the same day the free giveaway started. The expansion brings back The White Rat, one of the most popular levels from the original Vermintide game, completely rebuilt in Vermintide 2’s engine. Long-time fans get to revisit a beloved map while new players experience one of the franchise’s standout moments without paying extra.
The timing demonstrates Fatshark’s continued commitment to supporting Vermintide 2 despite launching spiritual successor Warhammer 40,000 Darktide in 2022. Many developers would have abandoned the older game in favor of pushing players toward the newer title. Instead, Fatshark maintains both games with regular updates, seasonal events, and content drops that keep communities engaged.
The White Rat level features memorable environmental storytelling, challenging enemy compositions, and satisfying pacing that showcases Vermintide’s level design at its best. Veterans will appreciate the nostalgia while evaluating how the map translates to Vermintide 2’s refined mechanics. Newcomers just get another excellent level to add to the already substantial base game content.
Seven Years of Post-Launch Support
Since launching in 2018, Vermintide 2 has more than doubled its original content through free updates, quality of life improvements, and new game modes. The Chaos Wastes roguelike mode added in 2021 provides endless replayability with randomized maps, power-ups, and progression that resets each run. The Versus mode introduced PvP allowing players to control either the heroes or Skaven in competitive 4v4 matches.
Seasonal events rotate throughout the year offering limited-time cosmetics, challenges, and modifiers that change how maps play. The developers consistently balance weapons, adjust talents, and respond to community feedback about pain points or exploits. This ongoing support explains why Vermintide 2 maintains an active player base seven years after release rather than dying like most co-op games within months of launch.
Vermintide 2 vs Darktide
The comparison between Vermintide 2 and Darktide is inevitable since both come from the same developer and share similar structures. Darktide moved the formula to Warhammer 40,000’s grimdark sci-fi setting, swapped medieval weapons for lasguns and chainswords, and increased the ranged combat focus. Many longtime players still prefer Vermintide 2 over the newer game for several reasons.
Vermintide 2 feels more polished after seven years of refinement. Darktide launched with technical issues, missing features, and controversial design decisions around progression systems that alienated parts of the community. While Fatshark has improved Darktide significantly since launch, Vermintide 2 benefits from years of lessons learned and systems perfected through iteration.
The melee combat in Vermintide 2 remains incredibly satisfying with weapon variety and hero differentiation that some argue surpasses Darktide. The fantasy setting appeals to players who prefer swords and magic over bolters and lasers. The complete package of base content, DLC, game modes, and maps gives Vermintide 2 substantially more to do out of the box compared to Darktide’s more focused but initially limited offerings.
Which Should You Play
The answer is both if you enjoy co-op horde shooters. Vermintide 2 being free removes any financial barrier to trying it. If you love it, Darktide offers a similar experience with different flavor and mechanics that might resonate even more depending on your preferences. If you prefer fantasy over sci-fi or melee over shooting, Vermintide 2 is probably the better fit. If grimdark 40K appeals more and you want a newer game with growing player populations, Darktide makes sense.
The beauty of Vermintide 2 going free is you can try it without risking money, fall in love with the formula, then decide if Darktide’s different take on the same structure appeals enough to buy. Or you might discover Vermintide 2 offers everything you want and happily invest hundreds of hours without ever needing the sequel. Both games have dedicated communities, regular updates, and enough content to justify the time investment.
Why This Giveaway Matters
Free game giveaways benefit everyone involved. Players get quality games without financial risk. Developers expose their work to massive new audiences who become potential customers for DLC, sequels, and future projects. Communities receive fresh blood that keeps matchmaking healthy and extends the game’s active lifespan.
Vermintide 2 going free in 2025 introduces the franchise to players who missed it in 2018 or couldn’t justify the purchase. The seven years of content updates mean newcomers get dramatically more game than early adopters paid for originally. This creates tremendous value that encourages word-of-mouth recommendations and positive sentiment toward Fatshark as a developer.
The giveaway also serves as marketing for the entire Warhammer gaming ecosystem. Players who love Vermintide 2 become more likely to try Darktide, purchase Total War Warhammer games, or explore other Games Workshop licensed titles. Building the overall Warhammer gaming audience benefits every developer working in that space.
FAQs
How long is Warhammer Vermintide 2 free?
Warhammer Vermintide 2 is free to claim and keep on Steam until November 24, 2025 at 10 AM PST. Once added to your library before that deadline, the game is yours permanently forever.
Is Vermintide 2 free on all platforms?
No, the free giveaway is exclusively on Steam for PC. Console versions on PlayStation and Xbox are not included in this promotion.
Do I need to pay for DLC?
The base game is completely free and includes substantial content. DLC is optional and currently discounted during the promotion. The game is perfectly enjoyable without purchasing any expansions.
Can I play Vermintide 2 solo?
Yes, you can play solo with AI bots filling the other three slots. However, the game is designed for co-op and significantly more enjoyable with human teammates. Matchmaking helps you find groups easily.
Is Vermintide 2 still active in 2025?
Yes, Vermintide 2 maintains an active player base with regular updates, seasonal events, and new content. The free giveaway will spike populations making it easier than ever to find matches.
What’s the difference between Vermintide 2 and Darktide?
Vermintide 2 is set in Warhammer Fantasy with medieval weapons and heavy melee focus. Darktide is set in Warhammer 40,000 with sci-fi weapons and more ranged combat. Both come from the same developer with similar co-op structures but different settings and gameplay emphasis.
Do I need to play Vermintide 1 first?
No, Vermintide 2 stands alone perfectly fine. While there are story connections and recurring characters, the game doesn’t require knowledge of the first entry to enjoy or understand.
Is there double XP running?
Yes, double XP is active until November 30, 2025, helping new players level up faster and unlock talents more quickly.
Conclusion
Warhammer Vermintide 2 being free to keep on Steam until November 24 represents one of the best gaming deals of 2025. You’re getting an acclaimed co-op horde shooter with seven years of post-launch support, dozens of hours of content, deep progression systems, and active communities completely free. The barrier to entry literally doesn’t exist. Even if you’re only mildly curious about the game, there’s zero financial risk to claiming it and trying a few matches. The worst case scenario is you decide it’s not for you and delete it. The best case is you discover your new favorite co-op game and build a squad of rat-slaying friends who stick together for hundreds of hours. With the brand new Return to the Reik DLC, double XP event, and population surge from the giveaway, this weekend represents the perfect storm of circumstances for jumping in. Don’t overthink it. Visit the Steam page. Click the button. Add it to your library. If you end up loving it, buy some DLC to support Fatshark’s continued development. If you don’t, you lost nothing but a few hours experimenting with something new. Either way, November 24 at 10 AM PST is your deadline. Miss it and you’re paying full price while kicking yourself for not claiming it when it was free.