Anno 117: Pax Romana's free weekend ends on Xbox at 11 p.m. PT on Sunday, November 8, while PS5 and PC players get until 4 a.m. PT on Monday, November 9. If you're fitting a trial around other plans, that platform difference matters more than the broad “through November 9” promotion.
There's another distinction to make before downloading: the free access includes the base game and co-op, but no DLC. Dawn of the Delta launched alongside the event, yet its new province isn't part of the trial. For a newcomer, the useful question is whether you enjoy building and managing a settlement enough to keep going after the weekend.
Plan around your platform's cutoff
The Los Angeles entries on Anno Union's launch-day timing map give the following schedule. All times below are Pacific.
| Platform | Free access begins | Free access ends |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X|S | November 5, 8 a.m. | November 8, 11 p.m. |
| PS5 | November 5, 8 a.m. | November 9, 4 a.m. |
| PC | November 5, 8 a.m. | November 9, 4 a.m. |
These are Anno's published times, rather than an assumed cutoff for every game in a wider promotion. The earlier free-weekend announcement carries the same platform schedule and confirms multiplayer and co-op access.
On Xbox, you don't need to subscribe just to enter this particular trial. Xbox Wire's Free Play Days announcement places Anno 117 in the group available without Game Pass, alongside Crime Boss: Rockay City. TrueAchievements' lineup report corroborates that exception. Don't read the membership requirements for the other games as a requirement to buy Game Pass for Anno.
Use the trial to make one purchase decision
Start with the base game rather than planning an expansion purchase before you've played. Give yourself one uninterrupted session to learn how the interface feels from your usual seat, whether you can follow what your settlement needs, and whether solving its next problem feels satisfying. Those are more useful buying signals than trying to build the largest possible city before the timer runs out.
If you expect to play with someone else, spend part of the weekend together. A solo session can tell you whether you like the pace; a shared session can tell you whether you enjoy making decisions as a pair. Agree on a modest goal first, then leave enough time to discuss whether you'd both return. There's no need to treat a free trial as a completion challenge.
Keep the DLC decision separate. Ubisoft's expansion overview describes Aegyptus as Dawn of the Delta's new province and confirms that progress carries over if you buy the game after the free weekend. That gives you a reason to take your trial settlement seriously without deciding immediately that you need every expansion.
Use your session to check the things a feature list can't settle for you: text readability on your display, comfort with the controls, and whether the rhythm suits the time you actually have to play.
Download the base-game trial first, make time for a session before your platform's cutoff, and choose an edition only after you've decided you want to continue. If you're on Xbox, plan to finish on Sunday rather than saving your final session for Monday morning.