Steam users can claim Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War for free during this year's Warhammer Skulls festival. The store page currently lists the strategy game as free to keep until May 28, giving PC players a short window to add it permanently to their Steam libraries.
The giveaway is tied to a busy week for Warhammer games. A Steam Community post from Slitherine says Gladius is free to keep for the duration of the festival, while Warhammer Community separately describes Skulls as a week of reveals, announcements, sales and discounts running through May 28.
A 4X Warhammer game is the headline freebie
Gladius first launched in 2018 from Proxy Studios and Slitherine. Steam describes it as the first turn-based 4X strategy game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, with players leading one of four factions: Astra Militarum, Space Marines, Orks or Necrons.
The free-to-keep offer is different from a free weekend. Anyone who claims the game while the promotion is live should retain it after the festival ends, although Steam notes that some limitations apply to free-to-keep promotions and that games granted this way do not drop Steam Trading Cards.
Gladius usually sells for $39.99 on Steam, according to the current store listing. The game sends players to Gladius Prime, a planet where ancient relics and a hostile awakening turn an Imperial colony into a fight for survival. Across a campaign or multiplayer matches, players build cities, research technologies, recruit hero units and fight over resources on a randomly generated world.
The same festival window also brings other Warhammer offers. Slitherine's Steam post says Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector is free to try from May 21 to May 28 alongside new Ultramarines DLC and a major Crusade mode update, while Gladius has received its Eradication Pack with eight new units. For Steam players who only want the permanent library addition, though, Gladius is the deal to claim before May 28.