Wildgate, the extraction shooter from ex-Blizzard veterans at Moonshot Games under Dreamhaven, is free to claim on Epic Games Store through January 8, 2026. The move comes six months after the game’s July 22, 2025 launch failed to attract sustainable player counts despite its $30 price tag. Currently, Wildgate struggles with a 24-hour peak of just 229 concurrent players on Steam, down from an already disappointing launch peak of 7,000. This Epic giveaway represents Dreamhaven’s painful but necessary attempt to inject life into a game that failed commercially, triggering layoffs at the studio last September.
The timing couldn’t be more desperate. Wildgate launched into a crowded extraction shooter market dominated by Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown, then faced immediate competition from Arc Raiders in October 2025, which nailed the formula with better gunplay, more content, and smoother progression. PC Gamer’s 60% review called Wildgate a “cool concept” with “not exactly excellent execution,” capturing the game’s core problem: interesting ideas buried under rough implementation. Now available free alongside Total War: Three Kingdoms as Epic’s New Year offering, Wildgate gets one last chance to prove it deserves to exist.
What Even Is Wildgate
Wildgate blends tactical ship-to-ship combat with fast-paced first-person shooting in a PvPvE extraction shooter format. Players take on the role of Prospectors, forming crews and venturing into a hostile region of space called the Reach to hunt valuable loot, complete objectives, and escape through dimensional gates called Wildgates before rival crews or AI enemies kill you. The hook is seamless transitions between piloting your ship in space combat and boots-on-ground FPS action when boarding enemy vessels or exploring locations.
Three game modes provide variety, at least in theory. Artifact Brawl tasks crews with snatching an artifact and blasting through the Wildgate while defending against rivals trying to steal it or destroy your ship. Fleet Battle is straightforward team deathmatch with up to 12 players per side fighting for supremacy. Treasure Hunt mode focuses on collecting loot and escaping with it before getting blown up, the closest to traditional extraction shooter gameplay that made Tarkov famous.
The problem is that two of these modes are currently locked or were temporarily disabled, leaving players with limited options. Reddit discussions from the Epic launch note that Treasure Hunt was locked for weeks but recently returned, though some modes remain inaccessible depending on platform. This lack of content contributes directly to player retention issues, as the game simply doesn’t offer enough variety to justify dozens of hours of investment compared to competitors.
The Balance and Gameplay Issues
Reddit user ChainExtremeus highlighted fundamental balance problems that plague Artifact Brawl mode. “Defenders” (those who grabbed the artifact first) hold massive advantages through the Entropy Cannon, a weapon that “seems to outperform everything else in the game” and only spawns at the artifact location. Teams lucky enough to secure the artifact first can grab this overpowered gun and systematically eliminate opposition before rivals even engage in fair combat. Add a sniper turret that also spawns at the same location, and you have snowball scenarios where early advantage becomes insurmountable.
DarkElfOnTheShelf pushed back on these concerns, noting that having the artifact doesn’t guarantee Entropy Cannon possession and that the weapon rarely appears in Treasure Hunt mode. Still, the mere fact that weapon spawns create this much advantage feels wrong for a game trying to compete with finely-tuned extraction shooters where skill determines outcomes more than lucky item spawns. Tarkov certainly has power weapons, but experienced players know the maps well enough to contest those locations rather than accepting guaranteed losses.
Why Wildgate Failed at Launch
Launching in July 2025 with a $30 price tag, Wildgate peaked at just 7,000 concurrent Steam players before cratering to low hundreds within weeks. By September 2025, Dreamhaven executed layoffs specifically citing Wildgate’s underwhelming performance, confirming what player count data already showed: the game wasn’t attracting or retaining audiences despite coming from Mike Morhaime’s studio of ex-Blizzard veterans. Multiple factors contributed to this commercial failure.
First, the $30 premium price in a genre increasingly dominated by free-to-play models created a massive barrier to entry. Arc Raiders launched at $40 and succeeded because it offered significantly more content, polish, and depth. Marathon delayed and pivoted away from free-to-play specifically because the premium extraction shooter market exists. But Wildgate’s content offering doesn’t justify $30 when players can experience “most of what Wildgate has to offer in just 10 to 15 hours” according to Reddit user Tough_Holiday584. The gameplay loop simply doesn’t captivate players like Tarkov or Arc Raiders.
Second, technical execution issues and rough implementation hurt word-of-mouth. PC Gamer’s lukewarm 60% review reflected broader critical consensus that while the ship-to-FPS combat concept sounds cool on paper, the reality feels janky and unpolished. When Arc Raiders launched months later with butter-smooth gunplay and satisfying progression systems, Wildgate’s shortcomings became impossible to ignore. Extraction shooters demand mechanical precision and tight feedback loops. Wildgate didn’t deliver.
Third, player count problems created a death spiral. Extraction shooters absolutely require healthy populations to function. When queue times stretch beyond tolerable limits and matches feel empty, the genre’s core appeal evaporates. By December 2025, Wildgate averaged under 200 concurrent Steam players, making matchmaking painfully slow and reducing the PvP tension that defines extraction gameplay. The Epic Games Store free offering represents Dreamhaven’s acknowledgment that the game needs a massive population injection or it dies permanently.
The Dreamhaven and Moonshot Context
Wildgate comes from Moonshot Games, a studio under Dreamhaven, the publishing label founded by ex-Blizzard president Mike Morhaime along with former Blizzard executives. Dreamhaven launched in 2020 with significant funding and ambitions to support creative developers making innovative games without corporate interference. Moonshot represents one of three studios under the Dreamhaven umbrella, staffed by industry veterans who worked on World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and other Blizzard properties.
The September 2025 layoffs at Dreamhaven following Wildgate’s poor performance raised uncomfortable questions about the studio’s viability. When your inaugural major release from experienced AAA developers fails to reach even 10,000 peak players, something went catastrophically wrong during development. Either the team misjudged market appetite for this particular extraction shooter concept, or execution problems derailed what could have been a solid game with better implementation.
Inven Global’s coverage notes that despite being a paid PvP title where player count is crucial, Wildgate “struggled operationally” from launch. The Epic Games Store free distribution is “being interpreted as a painful but necessary measure aimed at securing the game’s ‘sustainability’ by bringing in new players.” Translation: this is a desperation move, not a confident marketing strategy. Healthy games don’t abandon their paid business model six months post-launch unless they’re drowning.
Free-to-Play Transition Incoming
The Reddit Wildgate community discussion reveals what’s actually happening here. When users noted that current Steam peak numbers (excluding Epic, Xbox, and PlayStation) don’t reflect true player counts, the subtext was clear: Dreamhaven needs to demonstrate healthy population numbers to justify continuing development. The Epic freebie likely represents a soft transition to free-to-play, testing whether eliminating the $30 barrier attracts sustainable audiences willing to support monetization through cosmetics and battle passes.
Wildgate already features premium cosmetics and battle pass monetization according to Reddit discussions, meaning the infrastructure for free-to-play exists. The Epic Games Store promotion lets Dreamhaven gauge whether the fundamental gameplay loop hooks players when price isn’t a barrier. If thousands claim the game but most quit after 5-10 hours, that confirms core gameplay problems that no amount of free distribution can fix. If players stick around and engagement metrics improve, full free-to-play conversion becomes viable.
Similar scenarios played out with other struggling live service shooters. Splitgate went free-to-play and found success before eventually shutting down. The Culling briefly charged for access before returning to free-to-play, then died anyway. Crucible from Amazon never even made it out of beta. The extraction shooter subgenre is absolutely brutal for new entrants trying to steal market share from established giants. Wildgate needs this Epic promotion to work or Dreamhaven faces difficult decisions about continuing support versus cutting losses.
What Players Are Saying
The Reddit Games thread about Wildgate’s Epic freebie reveals mixed community sentiment. User ralopd encourages trying it: “It’s free to sign up for a week, and if you want to test it out and see if you enjoy it, you can do so right now!” Whutdafrack adds, “It’s worth taking a look. They’ve added a lot since its release. I was there at launch, but it was too PvP-centric and difficult, and I know they’ve introduced many solid updates since then.” These comments suggest the development team has been responsive to feedback and improving the experience post-launch.
However, skepticism dominates. One user flatly states: “The game is about six months old and has not exceeded 200 Steam players in the last month. The only surge it might see comes from the free claim, after which it will return to those same numbers. If you value the game at $30, I’m not sure what to say.” This brutal assessment reflects the harsh reality that temporary population spikes from free promotions rarely translate into sustained engagement if core gameplay doesn’t hook players.
On the positive side, the Wildgate subreddit announcement about Epic availability shows developer communication: “We hope that this week and in the future, more players will dive into the game, enjoy themselves, and experience faster queues overall—especially during peak times. Treasure Hunt has returned to the game-mode queues, and we’ve rolled back some temporary matchmaking changes from the past two weeks.” The team clearly understands that queue times represent a critical pain point and is actively working to address population issues.
Should You Claim It
Yes, absolutely claim Wildgate on Epic Games Store before January 8. It’s free forever once claimed, costing nothing but a few clicks. Whether you actually play it is another question entirely. If you enjoy extraction shooters and want to experience the ship-to-FPS combat blend that Wildgate attempts, now’s your chance without financial risk. The game isn’t terrible, just undercooked and overpriced for what it offers.
Polygon notes that alongside Wildgate, Epic is also giving away Total War: Three Kingdoms, the 2019 strategy game normally priced at $59.99. That’s easily the better value proposition of the two free offerings, representing a complete, content-rich experience from a proven franchise. If you only have time to try one, prioritize Three Kingdoms unless extraction shooters are specifically your genre obsession.
For those who do try Wildgate, manage expectations. You’re getting a rough-around-the-edges extraction shooter with interesting ideas that never fully coalesced into a compelling whole. Treat it like an early access experiment rather than a polished $30 product. If the Epic population injection succeeds and Dreamhaven commits to continued development, maybe Wildgate becomes something special. More likely, you’ll play for 5-10 hours, appreciate some cool moments, then move on when queue times inevitably increase again as free players churn out.
FAQs About Wildgate Free on Epic
How long is Wildgate free on Epic Games Store?
Wildgate is free to claim on Epic Games Store from January 1 through January 8, 2026. Once claimed, the game is yours to keep forever. You must add it to your library before the promotion ends or you’ll need to purchase it at full $30 price.
Why is Wildgate free if it launched in July 2025?
Wildgate struggled commercially after its July 22, 2025 launch, peaking at just 7,000 concurrent players before dropping to under 200-230 daily peaks by January 2026. Dreamhaven executed layoffs in September 2025 citing poor performance. The Epic freebie is a desperate attempt to revive player counts and potentially transition to free-to-play.
What kind of game is Wildgate?
Wildgate is a crew-based PvPvE extraction shooter that blends tactical ship-to-ship space combat with fast-paced first-person action. Players form crews, venture into hostile space regions to collect loot and complete objectives, then escape through dimensional gates called Wildgates while fighting rival crews and AI enemies.
How many people play Wildgate?
As of January 2026, Wildgate averages around 229 concurrent players on Steam during peak hours, down from a launch peak of 7,000 in July 2025. The Epic Games Store free promotion aims to dramatically increase player counts, though whether those players stick around long-term remains uncertain.
Is Wildgate becoming free-to-play permanently?
Not officially announced, but the Epic Games Store promotion likely represents a soft test for permanent free-to-play transition. The game already features battle pass and cosmetic monetization infrastructure. If the free promotion succeeds in attracting and retaining players, full free-to-play conversion becomes likely.
What other free game is Epic giving away this week?
Total War: Three Kingdoms is also free on Epic Games Store from January 1-8, 2026. The 2019 strategy game normally costs $59.99 and offers significantly more content than Wildgate, making it arguably the better value of the two free offerings this week.
Can I play Wildgate solo or is it multiplayer only?
Wildgate is primarily a multiplayer PvPvE game requiring online connectivity. While it has PvE training modes, the core experience revolves around crew-based extraction shooter gameplay against both AI enemies and rival player crews. There’s no meaningful single-player campaign or offline mode.
What’s the next free game on Epic Games Store?
Bloons TD 6 becomes free on Epic Games Store on January 8, 2026, when Wildgate and Total War: Three Kingdoms leave the promotion. Epic continues its weekly free game giveaways throughout 2026 following the same pattern established in previous years.
Conclusion
Wildgate’s Epic Games Store giveaway tells a familiar and sad story about live service extraction shooters that launch without the critical mass needed to survive. Despite coming from ex-Blizzard veterans at a well-funded studio, the game failed to deliver the execution quality and content depth required to compete with Tarkov, Hunt: Showdown, and Arc Raiders. The $30 price tag created an insurmountable barrier when players could experience most content in 10-15 hours and the gameplay loop couldn’t sustain long-term engagement. Dreamhaven’s September layoffs confirmed what player count data already showed: Wildgate flopped commercially, triggering desperate measures to salvage the project. This week’s free promotion represents a last-ditch attempt to inject population into dying servers before the inevitable shutdown or full free-to-play pivot. For players, it’s a risk-free opportunity to try an interesting concept executed poorly. Claim it on Epic before January 8, give it a few hours, and see if the ship-to-FPS combat blend clicks for you. Just don’t expect it to replace your main extraction shooter, because Wildgate likely won’t survive 2026 unless this Epic injection works miracles. The extraction shooter market is brutal, unforgiving, and littered with corpses of promising games that couldn’t sustain player counts. Wildgate is joining that graveyard unless something changes dramatically in the next few months.