Total War: Shogun 2 is the latest in a line of free games which have been given away in a bid to help keep folks entertained while they might be spending a lot of time at home under lockdown due to coronavirus.

In a statement, Sega observed that the past few weeks have held ‘unimaginable challenges’ to many of us, but that we’ve witnessed a remarkable collective effort in terms of banding together to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak.

The company said: “With this in mind, we want to continue to encourage you all to stay home and save lives by extending a gift to everyone to help make this difficult situation a little bit easier.”

Total War: Shogun 2 will be made completely free (to keep forever) on Steam from later on today, at 6pm in the UK, or 1pm ET (10am PT). You’ve got a few days to nip over to Valve’s gaming service and grab it, as the strategy epic will remain free until May 1.

Oldie but goldie

A quick Google will reveal that Total War: Shogun 2 is now nine-years-old, and that could dampen your enthusiasm for this freebie – but don’t let it.

In fact, this is regarded by many as a major highlight of the Total War series – for some people, this remains their favorite outing in the franchise, at least on the historical side – and is a really finely balanced strategy game (and it was the first to add naval battles into the mix).

For the total outlay of absolutely nothing, it’s definitely worth grabbing for anyone who has even a passing interest in these kind of games. Normally, when it’s not in any kind of sale, the game will set you back $29.99 or £24.99 on Steam.

Freebie hunters may also be interested to learn that Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 is also free on Steam right now.

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Via Eurogamer