By the DealDie Team · Published October 28, 2026 · Last updated October 28, 2026
Types of offers
These terms describe what you actually get from a giveaway:
- Free to keep: a normally paid game offered for free for a limited time. Once claimed, it stays in your library.
- Free to play (F2P): a game that never costs money to download but sells items, passes, or currency inside.
- Free weekend: a paid game you can play for free for a few days, without keeping it.
- Demo: a free, limited slice of a game, such as the first level or a time-limited trial.
- DLC: downloadable content, meaning extra paid content for a game, such as expansions, levels, or characters.
- Loot: free in-game items such as skins, packs, boosters, or currency.
- Beta: a test version of an unreleased game or update, often with limited access.
- Playtest: a short testing session, often with sign-ups approved in waves.
- Early Access: a game sold or given away while still in development, with updates planned.
- Bundle: a group of games or items sold together, often at a large discount.
Codes and claiming
How giveaways are delivered and redeemed:
- Key or code: a one-time string of characters that unlocks content on one platform.
- Claim: the act of adding a giveaway to your account, for example by pressing Get or Add to Account.
- Redeem: entering a key on the platform it belongs to.
- Account linking: connecting two accounts, such as a game account and a publisher account, so rewards are delivered automatically.
- Region lock: a restriction that lets a key or offer work only in certain countries.
- One per account: a rule that each account can claim an offer only once.
Stores and platforms
Terms for where games live:
- Launcher: a store's desktop app, used to install and run games from that store.
- Library: the list of games attached to your account on a store.
- DRM: digital rights management, the technology that ties a game to a store account or launcher.
- DRM-free: a game with no such restriction, usually installable from a standalone file.
- Cross-platform: available on more than one system, such as PC and console.
Values and safety
Terms you will see on listings and in our safety guides:
- Worth: the estimated regular price of a giveaway, used as a guide to value.
- Claimed count: how many people have claimed an offer, a sign of popularity and of keys running low.
- Phishing: a fake page or message designed to steal your account login.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): a second sign-in step, such as a code from an app, that protects your account even if your password leaks.
Ready to put this into practice? See giveaways ending soon or browse every active offer.