Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is free on Steam for the weekend

If you've been waiting for the right time to give Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 a spin, "right now" might be a good time to finally get on it: For the next three days, it's free to download and play on Steam.

This is primarily an FYI for those of you looking to fill your weekend with some new, ideally-inexpensive gaming, so there's not a whole lot more to say about it. But if you like what you see, you can pick up the full game for half-price during the free-play period. For those who already own it (or decide to stick with it), this is also a double-XP weekend in multiplayer and Zombie modes.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 free weekend comes to an end at 10 am PT on August 8.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.