If you‘re an avid gamer, you‘ve probably heard about Prime Gaming, Amazon‘s premium gaming service included with Amazon Prime. But before you commit to a paid membership, you likely want to check it out for yourself first.
The good news is Amazon offers a 30-day Prime Gaming free trial so you can experience the benefits completely risk-free. As a fellow gamer myself, I put together this comprehensive guide to walk you through everything you need to know to make the most of it.
By the end of this article, you‘ll have all the key details on the Prime Gaming trial length, how to sign up, what‘s included, when to cancel, and tips to maximize your free 30 days of access. Let‘s dive in!
A Quick Primer – What is Prime Gaming?
For anyone unfamiliar, Prime Gaming (formerly called Twitch Prime) provides a suite of valuable benefits for gamers bundled into an Amazon Prime membership. Here‘s a quick overview of what you get:
Free games – New digital PC games to download every month across top genres. Recent hits included Need for Speed Heat, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Grid Legends.
In-game content – Exclusive loot like skins, weapons, characters and currency packs for popular games such as Apex Legends, Valorant, GTA V, Destiny 2, and many more.
1 Free Twitch channel subscription per month – Subscribe to your favorite streamer without using your own cash.
Ad-free Twitch viewing – Watch streams on Twitch without any ads interrupting.
Twitch emotes – Access to unique Prime-exclusive emoticons.
Twitch chat badge – Special badge by your name when chatting on Twitch.
For serious gamers, especially those who play a lot of the supported titles and watch Twitch regularly, Prime Gaming can provide tremendous ongoing value. Now let‘s look at how you can try it free for 30 days.
What‘s the Length of the Prime Gaming Free Trial?
The Prime Gaming free trial lasts 30 days. This is the same length as the standard Amazon Prime free trial.
When you sign up for an Amazon Prime free trial, you automatically get full access to Prime Gaming for the 30-day period at no cost.
While 30 days may seem short, it‘s enough time to significantly evaluate the Prime Gaming benefits and decide if the membership is worth it for you long-term.
Eligibility Requirements – Who Can Get the Free Trial?
The good news is Amazon allows you to activate a free Prime trial even if you‘ve had one in the past.
The only rule is that 12 months must have passed since you last participated in a Prime or Prime Video free trial. As long as it‘s been over a year, you‘re eligible.
This means you can periodically enjoy 30 days of Prime Gaming by taking advantage of a new free trial every 12 months, without ever actually paying for a membership. More on that money-saving tactic later!
What‘s Included in the Prime Gaming Free Trial?
As a free trial member, you get unrestricted access to everything Prime Gaming has to offer for 30 days. Here are the key benefits available to try out:
Free games
- Claim full PC games across various genres like action, RPG, simulation, strategy, and more
- Recent hits have included Need for Speed Heat, Grid Legends, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Visit the Prime Gaming hub to see this month‘s free game offers
- Claimed games are yours to keep and play even after the trial ends
In-game loot
- Exclusive skins, characters, weapons, currency packs, and other digital items
- Add-ons for popular multiplayer titles like Apex Legends, Valorant, Roblox, Destiny 2, and more
- New content arrives regularly – check the Prime Gaming hub for the latest
- Items carry over after the trial if you continue your membership
Twitch benefits
- 1 free channel subscription per month to use (up to $5.99 value)
- Access to exclusive Prime-only emotes when chatting
- Prime chat badge to display next to your name
- Ad-free viewing of streams, no ads interrupting
Along with these Prime Gaming benefits, you also get access to other Amazon Prime benefits like free shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, and more.
So in summary, a ton of valuable gaming perks and extras are available free for 30 days. Now let‘s look at what happens when the trial period inevitability comes to an end.
What Happens When the Free Trial Expires?
Once your 30 free days of Prime Gaming are up, here‘s what to expect:
Your trial will automatically convert to a paid Prime membership.
You‘ll be charged the full Prime fee, typically $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
Your access to Prime Gaming will continue with no interruption.
You can keep enjoying all the games, loot, and Twitch benefits seamlessly.
You can cancel the paid membership anytime if you decide Prime isn‘t worth it.
The key takeaway is that while the free trial has an expiration, your access to everything you unlocked with Prime Gaming during those 30 days will continue uninterrupted.
You don‘t have to worry about losing your free games, items, or Twitch subscriptions you acquired during the trial. But you will start getting charged for Prime if you don‘t cancel first.
How to Cancel the Prime Gaming Free Trial to Avoid Charges
Don‘t want to continue with a paid Prime membership? Canceling the free trial is easy and can be done either on Amazon‘s website or in the mobile app:
On Amazon.com:
- Go to Account & Lists in the top menu
- Click on Your Prime membership
- Select Manage membership
- Choose End membership to cancel
In the Amazon mobile app:
- Open the app and tap on Programs & Features
- Select Amazon Prime
- Choose Manage Membership
- Tap on End Membership to cancel
You can cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period and you‘ll still be able to access Prime Gaming for the remaining duration. Just be sure to cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends to be safe.
Once cancelled, you won‘t be charged when the trial converts and will not have an active Prime membership. But any Prime Gaming loot acquired or free games claimed is yours to keep forever!
Can You Do the Prime Gaming Free Trial Repeatedly?
This is one of my favorite Prime Gaming hacks. While you can only do a free trial every 12 months, that still presents an opportunity to enjoy Prime Gaming repeatedly without ever paying!
The strategy is simple:
Sign up for a Prime free trial and enjoy all the Prime Gaming benefits for 30 days.
Make sure to cancel within the 30 days to avoid being charged when the trial ends.
Wait 12 months.
Sign up for another Prime free trial to get 30 more free days of Prime Gaming!
Cancel again before you get charged.
Repeat!
As long as you carefully follow this routine, you can keep unlocking free games, in-game content, and Twitch perks completely free year after year. Just set calendar reminders so you never forget to cancel.
Of course, this assumes you can patiently wait out the 12 months in between access periods. But if you time it right with major game releases or DLC drops, the wait is worth scoring Prime Gaming benefits without the Prime cost.
Tips to Maximize Your Free Trial Experience
To help you make the absolute most of your 30 free days with Prime Gaming, I put together this list of tips and tricks as a Prime power user myself:
Grab ALL the free games – Claim every free game available each month, even if you don’t plan to play them immediately. As long as you add them to your library during the trial, they’re yours to download and play later.
Use your free Twitch sub ASAP – Don’t let it go to waste! Look for your favorite streamer or the most expensive sub tier to maximize the value.
Activate time-limited loot quickly – Certain in-game offers expire fast or rotate out monthly, so collect them right away.
Download the Prime Gaming desktop app – Makes browsing and claiming new deals a breeze. Provides notifications too.
Explore ALL Twitch perks – Test out the exclusive emotes, chat badge, ad-free viewing, and more.
Watch for seasonal offers – Events like the holidays, summer, and Minecraft Festival bring specialloot.
Set a cancellation reminder – Use your calendar so you don’t forget to cancel before getting charged at the end.
Using these tips will ensure you don‘t miss out on any of the short-term Prime Gaming freebies and offers during your limited 30 days of access.
What About an Amazon Prime Video Free Trial?
You may be wondering – what if I only want to try out Prime Video, not the full Prime membership with Gaming? Amazon does offer a standalone Prime Video 30-day free trial.
However, this will only grant access to video streaming, NOT Prime Gaming. To get the full gamer experience, you need to do the standard Amazon Prime free trial.
But if you specifically want Prime Video first, you can absolutely start with that free trial, enjoy the video benefits for 30 days, then do the full Prime trial later to unlock gaming.
Just remember to cancel each trial membership before the deadline so you don’t get unintentionally charged. Stacked trials are a great way to maximize your overall free access.
Is It Possible to Get Prime Gaming Without Amazon Prime?
Unfortunately, there is no way to continuously access Prime Gaming benefits without an active Amazon Prime membership. The services are bundled together by design.
Of course, you can temporarily gain full Prime Gaming access through the free trial as we’ve discussed.
And clever gamers use back-to-back trials to enjoy the benefits year-round without paying for Prime (though waiting 12 months between trials requires patience).
But ultimately, a Prime subscription is required to maintain uninterrupted access to all that Prime Gaming has to offer. There is no standalone membership just for gaming – yet!
Should You Sign Up for Prime Just for Gaming?
Whether or not paying for Prime is worthwhile solely for access to Prime Gaming really depends on your individual gaming habits and how much you would use the benefits:
For avid gamers who…
- Play 10+ hours per week
- Play many top supported titles
- Watch Twitch streams daily
- Value exclusive skins and loot
…Prime Gaming provides tremendous value worth the membership cost.
For casual gamers who…
- Only play occasionally
- Primarily play unsupported games
- Rarely watch Twitch
- Don’t care much about cosmetics
…the benefits may not justify the $120+ per year Prime price tag.
Ultimately, the 30-day free trial is the best way to gauge if the membership makes sense for your personal gaming lifestyle long-term.
Try it out risk-free and see if the included games, in-game content, and Twitch perks enhance your experience enough to warrant the cost. Plus, you can keep extending your free access by chaining trials every 12 months!
Key Takeaways – Your Prime Gaming Free Trial Cheat Sheet
Let’s recap the key details covered in this guide to help you successfully navigate the Prime Gaming free trial:
- It’s 30 days total, the same as the Amazon Prime free trial
- You get full access to all Prime Gaming benefits
- Free games and loot carry over after it ends
- Cancel anytime to avoid being charged
- You can use back-to-back trials to repeatedly access for free year-round
- Claim offers ASAP before they expire each month
- Use the desktop app and set cancellation reminders
With this Prime Gaming free trial cheat sheet, you‘re fully equipped to maximize your 30 days of free access to games, exclusive items, Twitch perks, and more!
Have fun exploring everything Prime Gaming has to offer. And be sure to cancel if you don’t plan to continue the paid membership – unless you want to keep the free gaming goodness flowing by chaining those back-to-back trials.
Happy (free) gaming! Let me know if you have any other questions.
