Ethan Crossfield 
Project First Contact is available free to keep on the Epic Games Store for a limited time, giving players a chance to add Atomic Fabrik’s UFO-themed horror game to their libraries without paying its usual $2.99 price. The developer-led promotion ends on August 17 at 5:00 PM, so anyone interested will need to claim it before the deadline.
What Happened With Project First Contact
Project First Contact is not one of the Epic Games Store’s regular weekly giveaways. Instead, Atomic Fabrik is offering the game directly as a separate promotion. Once claimed during the offer period, the title is free to keep rather than merely being available for a temporary play session.
Originally released in 2017, Project First Contact is a first-person horror experience set on an alternate version of Earth. The game’s central premise is an invasion by unidentified flying objects, with the player exploring a world where the presence of alien forces has made reality increasingly difficult to trust.
Why This UFO Horror Game Stands Out
Project First Contact combines first-person horror with walking-simulator elements. Much of the experience involves moving through different areas and reaching the next location, but exploration is repeatedly interrupted by hostile extraterrestrial creatures and unsettling visual distortions. Area 51 is among the locations players can explore, while zombie-looking enemies add a familiar horror threat to the alien-invasion setting.
The game’s most distinctive idea is that alien species cause people to hallucinate. As a result, the protagonist cannot always rely on their perception of the environment. Moments of spatial agnosia and distorted visuals blur the boundary between what is happening and what may be imagined. That approach gives the otherwise straightforward point-to-point exploration a more disorienting quality.
The large number of UFO sightings reinforces the game’s focus, but Project First Contact is not presented as a conventional action-heavy alien shooter. Its design is centered more on atmosphere, movement, and uncertainty than on extensive combat systems.
What to Watch Next
The immediate priority for interested players is the August 17 cutoff. The promotion is separate from Epic’s normal weekly free-game schedule, meaning players should not assume that the title will remain available through the store’s standard giveaway rotation. The offer also provides a low-cost way to try a compact horror game built around alien encounters and unreliable perception.
Players looking for a traditional action game may find the walking-simulator structure less familiar, while horror fans who enjoy exploration and surreal presentation may have more reason to investigate. Atomic Fabrik’s giveaway also gives Project First Contact visibility beyond its original 2017 release window.
Key details for players
- Project First Contact is free to keep on the Epic Games Store until August 17 at 5:00 PM.
- The promotion comes from developer Atomic Fabrik and is separate from Epic’s weekly free-game giveaways.
- The game normally costs $2.99 and originally launched in 2017.
- Gameplay includes first-person horror, walking-simulator elements, UFO sightings, and explorable areas such as Area 51.
- Alien-induced hallucinations create distorted visuals and moments where reality becomes difficult to interpret.
Expert View
Project First Contact is unlikely to reshape the Epic Games Store’s free-game strategy, but the promotion is well suited to a small horror title with a clear hook. The UFO setting, hallucination mechanics, and limited-time access give curious players a practical reason to look beyond the platform’s headline weekly giveaways. For Atomic Fabrik, the offer can bring renewed attention to a game that first appeared in 2017 without requiring players to commit to its regular price.
