In a nutshell: The Epic Games Store is playing the part of Santa Claus this year by giving away one of the biggest games in recent times. The offer has proved so popular that it temporarily crashed the site's servers. Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding can currently be downloaded and kept forever without costing you a penny, but make sure to move fast if you want a copy, as the sale only lasts a few more hours (until 8 am PT / 11 am ET on December 26).
Death Stranding was one of the most hotly anticipated games when released on the PS4 in 2019 (the PC version arrived in 2020). The open-world adventure and its all-star cast arrived to critical acclaim---it was PC Gamer's best title of 2020---but the unique gameplay and mechanics mean it's not for everyone, which is why Epic's free giveaway is so appealing; there's no need to risk any money on something you might not like.
Epic started off the deal by giving away the more recent Death Stranding Director's Cut. However, it seems the offer proved more popular than expected. Much like the GTA V giveaway in 2020, the huge number of people trying to access the service caused it to overload. Once the Epic Games Store came back, the giveaway had changed to the base edition of Death Stranding. That's still a good offer, and owners of the base game can upgrade to the Director's Cut for just $6 by taking advantage of the current Steam Christmas Sale.
The Epic Game Store gives away a different game each day as part of its holiday sale. There have been some big names on the list, including Wolfenstein: The New Order, Sable, and Metro Last Light Redux. There are four more titles being given away before it ends, the next of which arrives in a few hours when the Death Stranding offer expires.
If you want to see if Death Stranding lives up to the hype, the deal ends at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, so you better move fast. There's also a slew of other holiday discounts on the store and Steam; check out some of these great offers on Valve's site.