Steam Deck news for co-op fans: Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is on a Steam Free Weekend. You can play Ghost Ship Games’ roguelike co-op shooter for free until 16 November 2026 at 18:00 UK time. It is a free weekend only, not free to keep, so once that clock runs out you need to buy the game to carry on. You can start from the Rogue Core Steam store page, where the game is also on sale at 50% off.
Steam Deck news: Rogue Core free weekend details
Steam shows the free play window ending on 16 November at 10:00am Pacific, which is 18:00 in the UK while we are on UTC+0. Anyone can install it and play as much as they like until then. Ghost Ship Games says the weekend marks six months since Rogue Core launched in Early Access, and they are inviting players back to look at everything that has changed, including anyone who tried it at launch and bounced off.
The discount is 50% off in the UK: £24.99 down to £12.49 at the time we checked. Prices and percentages can move, so check the store page before you buy.
Rogue Core is a spin-off from the Deep Rock Galactic universe. It is a 1-to-4 player co-op shooter where sci-fi dwarves push through procedurally generated caves, fight hordes of alien creatures and pick up random roguelike upgrades along the way. Steam lists Action and Early Access as its genres, with online co-op, single-player, Steam Achievements and full controller support, including DualShock and DualSense. It came out in Early Access on 20 May 2026, and the developers say they expect it to stay in Early Access for 18 to 24 months.
What has changed since launch
The developers were upfront about the launch: in their six-month post they say it “didn’t go so hot” and that they have spent the months since fixing what players disliked. Steam reviews reflect that history. The game currently sits at Mixed overall, with 69% of 7,774 English reviews positive, and 68% of the 277 reviews from the last 30 days positive. If you want a sense of whether it has improved, the free weekend lets you judge for yourself without paying anything.
Here are the headline changes from the developers’ own list:
Core gameplay: every enemy now drops EXP, you no longer have to group up to collect upgrades, chosen upgrades are replaced with new ones, and you can reroll upgrades at a Refractor Terminal in the elevator. There are also five Threat Levels for difficulty and an Assault Pace toggle that lets you lengthen or shorten the mission timer.
Weapons and enemies: new weapons include the Trident DES energy shotgun, the Ventura Model 57 pump-action shotgun, the Corrosive Sludge Pump and the LOK-1 Smart Rifle, plus an XQ-2 Quantum Warp Field teleporter for getting around. New enemies include the Voidkin Drifter and Voidkin Dominator snipers, the Corespawn Bloater, and a fourth boss, the Balgorath Gatekeeper.
Variety and quality of life: 25 new upgrades, 13 new cave constructions, 15 new cavern formations and four new entrance facilities, plus Boss Risk Vectors and new Mission Alterations. Solo players can now save and quit after any level, a crash recovery system lets the rest of the team retry if the host drops, and there is auto-sprint and more ammo in the caves. The developers have also published an updated roadmap that looks ahead to Update 4.
Steam Deck, Steam Machine and Steam Frame ratings
Valve rates Rogue Core Playable on Steam Deck. The good news in the report is that the default controller configuration is fully functional, the controller glyphs match the Deck, and the default graphics configuration is performant. The caveats are that some interface text is not legible on the Deck screen, that text input does not automatically bring up the on-screen keyboard, and that external controllers are not supported for the primary player. In plain terms, you should expect some small menu text and having to open the keyboard yourself when you need to type something, and you should use the Deck’s own controls rather than a separate gamepad.
Steam Machine is also rated Playable. Valve’s Machine report lists a fully functional default controller configuration, matching glyphs and a performant default configuration. The one note against it is the same text input issue: the on-screen keyboard does not appear automatically. Steam Frame is not rated yet by Valve for Rogue Core, so we are not making any Frame claims until Valve publishes a result.
Who this free weekend is for
If you like Deep Rock Galactic’s co-op feel but want a shorter, run-based take on it, the Rogue Core free weekend is an easy way to try it with friends. The mixed reviews and Early Access label are worth keeping in mind, but the six-month list of changes is exactly the sort of thing a free weekend is for. Deck and Machine players get a Playable rating with some small interface caveats, so treat the weekend as a compatibility check as much as a content check before you decide whether the £12.49 sale price is worth it.
We have been covering other free weekends and co-op games lately, including the PAYDAY 3 free weekend and the For The King II free weekend. If you want more games to try on Deck, our roundup of this week’s new Steam Deck compatible games is a good next stop.
Before you jump in
Install Rogue Core while the free weekend is showing on the store page. Remember that the free weekend ends on 16 November 2026 at 18:00 UK. On Steam Deck, keep the small text and the on-screen keyboard that you have to open yourself in mind, and stick to the built-in controls.
Bottom line: Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is free to play this weekend until 16 November 2026 at 18:00 UK, with 50% off if it grabs you. You can find the play button on the Rogue Core Steam store page.
