The takeaway: A recent free-game promotion on Steam is drawing attention to how giving away a title can still generate substantial revenue when there is a clear path to selling additional content. A four-day free giveaway of Graveyard Keeper, a title published by tinyBuild, generated roughly $250,000 in revenue, according to CEO Alex Nichiporchik. Most of that money came afterward, as new players who claimed the free copy went on to purchase downloadable content for the game.

Nichiporchik said the increase came from new players who tried the game for free and then paid for additional content. The strategy relies less on the free offer itself and more on whether the game can retain players long enough for them to make a purchase. In this case, Graveyard Keeper already had several DLC packs available, allowing tinyBuild to earn revenue from players who obtained the base game for free.

Before the promotion, the game averaged roughly 1,000 peak concurrent players per day. During the giveaway period, that figure climbed significantly, peaking at more than 46,000 concurrent users. High player counts can increase DLC sales and boost visibility on Steam, meaning the impact can extend beyond the four-day promotion.

The effects also carried over to future products. Interest in Graveyard Keeper 2, an upcoming sequel, rose sharply during and after the campaign. Nichiporchik said the game has now surpassed 450,000 wishlists on Steam.

While Steam does not publicly disclose exact wishlist totals, follower data on the Steam Hub suggests a similar trend. The sequel's follower count increased from 9,817 on April 5 to 21,035 by April 16, indicating a rapid rise in audience interest over a relatively short period.

– Alex Nichiporchik (@aNichiporchik) April 13, 2026

The pattern points to differences in how the two stores retain players. Steam has been more effective at keeping users engaged on its platform, and once players claim a free game there, they are more likely to stay and spend money on it. A free acquisition becomes a starting point rather than an endpoint.

That stands in contrast to similar efforts elsewhere. Epic has given away a long list of free games to attract users, but many players still claim the titles and then return to Steam instead of staying within the Epic Games Store ecosystem. The gap may come down to how each platform handles post-download engagement. If free players have nothing else to buy or do within a game, they are less likely to stick around or spend money later.

Even so, the Graveyard Keeper example does not suggest that giveaways are inherently profitable. The outcome depends on several variables: the underlying quality of the game, the availability and appeal of paid expansions, and the platform's ability to keep players engaged long enough to drive additional spending. A free title without a monetization pathway – or without sufficient depth to sustain player interest – would likely see far weaker returns.