Civ: Beyond Earth Free This Weekend, Rising Tide Expansion on Sale

2K today announced that preorders for the first Civilization: Beyond Earth expansion, Rising Tide, are live. Alongside that, it's kicked off a free Steam weekend event, allowing anyone to play Beyond Earth for free and then pick up the full version (and Rising Tide) at a discount.

The weekend event is now live; if you don't already own it, you can head to Steam, download Beyond Earth, and play as much as you want for free until Sunday, August 16. This is the full version of the game, which--being a Civilization game--offers dozens, if not hundreds of hours of gameplay.

Should you want to play after this weekend, you can pick it up from now until August 17 at 10 AM PDT for $20, a 50 percent discount. Any progress you make during the free weekend will transfer over.

Alternatively, you can pick up one of several discounted bundles that include Beyond Earth. There's one with Civ III Complete, Civ IV, Civ V, and Beyond Earth for $25; one with Beyond Earth and Sid Meier's Starships for $21; and another with Beyond Earth, a map pack, and Rising Tide for $50.

If you already own Beyond Earth and are only interested in the expansion--which introduces new water-based gameplay, an improved diplomacy system, new units, and more--you can preorder it for $27 instead of the usual $30. It's due out on October 9, and you can find out more in our recent extensive preview.