Overkill Software has made Payday 2 temporarily free a few times in the past—trial weekends. But now, while supplies last (only five million copies available!), it and Payday 2 VR are straight-up, keep-them-forever free on Steam.
The studio announced last month that Payday 2 and its great abundance of DLC would be consolidated into a single “Ultimate Edition” package. The all-in version of the game will go $45, while existing owners will have the option to upgrade, with pricing based on how much DLC they already have.
The upgrade process is still underway, so while that all grinds through the system, Overkill has made the base game temporarily free for the taking.