How to Watch 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 Online for Free

Winter is here, and at long last, so are the final six episodes of Game of Thrones. The broadcast of the Game of Thrones season 8 began airing on Sunday, April 14, and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday, May 19.

While GoT is on HBO — a premium pay channel, included with cable packages for an extra fee each month — there are ways you can watch the Game of Thrones season 8 online for free, or at least some episodes, including the Game of Thrones finale on Sunday, May 19. Here's everything you need to know to live stream Game of Thrones for free during the final season.

Live Stream Game of Thrones Season 8 on Amazon or HBO Go

The trick to watching Game of Thrones online for free is to sign up for a free trial of a live-streaming service that includes HBO in its bundle of channels.

Many streaming services let you watch HBO live and on-demand, allowing you to stream Game of Thrones episodes as soon as they air, and also to catch up with older seasons and binge Game of Thrones whenever you like. All of these services come with some kind of free trial — generally lasting five to seven days — thereby allowing you to at least live-stream the Game of Thrones season 8 premiere or another new episode for free.

If you already have Amazon Prime, it's super easy to sign up for a free trial of HBO on Amazon. Once you're registered for a free HBO trial with Amazon Prime Video, you get seven days to stream as much HBO as you want — including unlimited Game of Thrones episodes, old and new.

After the free seven-day trial of HBO on Amazon, you will be charged the regular monthly subscription rate — $14.99 — if you don't cancel before the deadline. This same rule applies to all streaming service free trials: If you do not want to become a paying subscriber, be sure to remember to cancel before the free-trial period expires.

Instead of using Amazon Prime to watch Game of Thrones, you could go directly to HBO, which has its own streaming service, HBO Go. The deal is essentially the same: If you're a new subscriber, you can sign up for a free seven-day trial of HBO Go so you can stream Game of Thrones season 8 for free — along with any other HBO content you want, including old Game of Thrones episodes — as long as the free trial is in effect. If the trial period is over and you haven't canceled in time, you will be charged $14.99 per month for HBO Go.

Streaming TV Packages With HBO and Game of Thrones

Several live-streaming TV services also let you watch Game of Thrones online for free via their own free trials.

If you are unfamiliar with live-streaming TV, think of it as the online version of the traditional cable TV package. Each live-streaming TV bundle comes with dozens of channels, only you watch online on a smart TV or other connected device rather than through a cable box.

The live-streaming service DirecTV Now includes HBO with its "Plus" package. It normally costs $50 per month, but if you can try it out for free for seven days if you are a new subscriber. Subscribers can also stream unlimited old Game of Thrones episodes with DirecTV Now.

Two other live-streaming TV packages start at around $45 per month, plus an extra $15 for premium channels like HBO, and yes they will let you stream Game of Thrones for free during free-trial periods. The two streaming services that let you order HBO a la carte are Hulu + Live TV and PlayStation Vue. If you do not cancel HBO or the streaming service itself before the free trial expires, you will be charged in full for the first month's service.

Be careful when ordering live-streaming TV services just so you can watch Game of Thrones, because not all of these services come with access to HBO. In particular, you can't stream Game of Thrones on Netflix, Sling TV, or YouTube TV — because none of them have agreements for streaming HBO content.