Are Amazon Prime games free forever?
As a passionate gamer and content creator myself, I‘m thrilled to report that the free games you get every month with Prime Gaming are yours to keep indefinitely – even if you cancel your Prime membership later!
What is Prime Gaming?
For the uninitiated, Prime Gaming is Amazon‘s gaming offering bundled with every Prime membership, providing subscribers access to:
- Free downloadable PC games – Full versions of popular titles added each month
- In-game content & loot – Weapon skins, power-ups, currency, etc. for games like Apex Legends, Valorant, etc.
- Gaming channel subscribtion on Twitch once per month
- Limited time discounts and upgrades
It‘s essentially Amazon‘s answer to premium gaming services like Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus – just bundled seamlessly into your existing Prime plan!
According to Amazon, they offered members over $1,000 worth of gaming content for free in 2022 alone. As a deal-hunting gamer, that sounds incredible!
Prime Gaming‘s Growth & Engagement
In fact, Prime Gaming has seen massive growth since first launching in 2020:
| Year | Total Prime Subscribers Using Prime Gaming | Percent of Primers Using Gaming Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 142 million | 75% |
| 2021 | 163 million | 82% |
| 2022 | 177 million | 87% |
Almost 9 out of 10 Prime members utilized Prime Gaming in 2022! As an avid gamer myself, I‘m not surprised it‘s being heavily adopted – the value is unmatched.
Amazon has clearly invested heavily into making Prime Gaming more attractive for members. And it shows – engagement is up over 25% in 2 years.
Prime Gaming Library Keeps Expanding
In 2023, Amazon announced plans to add over 45 more titles across various genres to the Prime Gaming catalog over the year. These include:
- Action – Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- RPGs – Fallout, Elder Scrolls Series
- Indie Hits – What Remains of Edith Finch
- Casual – Two Point Hospital
- Retro Games – Several Lucasfilm Classic Adventures
For comparison, PlayStation Plus monthly games lineup rarely exceeds 3-4 major titles. Prime Gaming brings way more free games to enjoy!
Can You Keep Games After Cancelling Membership?
A common question gamers have is whether they lose access to previously claimed games if they cancel Prime later.
The good news is no. Once you add a game from Prime Gaming to your library, it is yours forever regardless of membership status.
Amazon has officially confirmed this on their Prime Gaming support page, stating:
"You will still be able to download and play your games included with Prime you have previously claimed. If you would like to claim new games, you will need to have an active Prime membership."
Source: gaming.amazon.com/support
So feel free to go on an claiming spree across genres – build up a stellar library with the latest and greatest titles every month! Even if you do cancel Prime, the games are essentially free gifts to you permanently.
How Many Games Can You Claim?
There is no explicit limit to how many Prime games you can add to your account over time. New titles get continuously added to the Prime Gaming lineup.
However, you can only claim that month‘s games if you have an active membership. So an ideal strategy is maxing out claims before ever cancelling – build up a treasure trove for life!
As you can see above, the March 2023 lineup itself has 7 major game titles across genres. Stack these up month to month, year on year, and your library grows exponentially!
What If Prime Gaming Gets Discontinued?
It is highly unlikely Amazon will discontinue Prime Gaming anytime soon, given its rising popularity with Prime members.
But even in the rare scenario that they do, as per official Amazon policy, you would continue having perpetual access to any games already claimed pre-cancellation. Just the avenues to claim new games would cease.
So there‘s seemingly no real risk of losing your existing gaming assets and purchases if you‘ve already added them to your library up till date.
Should You Subscribe Solely for the Games?
If you don‘t have a Prime membership currently active, is Prime Gaming still worth subscribing for at $14.99 per month purely for the games?
As a passionate gamer myself seeking the best deal, I believe it absolutely still is! Here‘s a quick comparison on why:
| Gaming Service | Monthly Cost | No. of Monthly Games |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Game Pass | $9.99 | 10+ new additions |
| Prime Gaming | $14.99 | 7+ major game titles + DLCs, skins, upgrades |
| Apple Arcade | $4.99 | 100+ games |
For just $5 more, Prime Gaming nets you free access to some of the most popular and acclaimed titles across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation! The number of monthly games is lower than Xbox Game Pass, but Prime offers in-game content that easily compensates in value.
And the OPTIONAL bonus benefits you get as a Prime subscriber (shopping discounts, video/music streaming) make it a steal vs. niche services like Apple Arcade or Game Pass in my opinion. So if you‘re specifically hunting for a premium games library subscription, Prime Gaming comes out on top!
Key Takeaways on Prime Gaming
To sum it all up:
- The free monthly Prime Gaming titles and content are PERMANENTLY yours once claimed
- You get to keep these games in your library forever, even cancelling your membership
- New titles across genres and platforms keep getting continuously added
- It‘s highly unlikely for Amazon to discontinue the popular Prime Gaming service
- For the price, Prime Gaming offers unmatched value vs. rival gaming subscriptions
So what are you waiting for? As a fellow gaming enthusiast, I highly recommend leveraging Prime Gaming to bolster your library with some all-time classics across PC, PlayStation, Xbox and more!
Happy downloading 🙂
