Gaming has quickly become the biggest entertainment industry in the world, meaning developers and publishers are pushed to meet the demand more than ever before with triple A titles releasing almost monthly. Keeping up with the constant stream of releases is near impossible unless you're a millionaire, gamers have to be savvy with their money and choose the games they wish to buy wisely. So, when is the best time to save on Video Games?
(Image credit: Steam)
When Is The Best Steam Sale?
If you’re lucky enough to own a gaming PC then chances are you're already familiar with Steam, for those not in the know Steam is undoubtedly the most popular video game retailer for PC gamers. The gaming platform has millions of titles available from tiny indie developed games all the way to triple A titles.
Steam's tri-annual ‘Steam Sale’ is as well known as the platform itself at this point. The sale happens once in the Summer and again in the Autumn and Winter. The steam sale offers some serious savings where you can pick up past titles for just a couple of quid, or newer titles at heavily discounted prices.
Last year's winter sale had some great savings on popular titles such as:
Stray 20% off
NFS Unbound 50% off
Battlefield 2042 70% off
Death Stranding Director's Cut 40% off
Steam also offers some fun ways to save during these sales with their “metagame” which involves Steam populating the sale pages with fake games and easter eggs if you manage to find one you’ll receive a little reward.
With Steam being an entirely digital platform it offers a great way to get some longevity out of your games - especially with heavy discounts on GOTY editions and dlc’s meaning you can bring some life to the games that you already own at a relatively cheap price.
This year's summer Steam Sale is expected to run from June 29th - July 13th. The autumn sale is expected to run between November 21st - November 28 and the winter sale will follow shortly after and run through December 21 - January 4th.
Xbox are a little strange when it comes to sales in that they go against the grain of the industry standard of holding seasonal sales. While they do have their summer sale and winter sale ‘Xbox’s Countdown Sale’, Xbox seems to favour theming their sales by franchise, developer or publisher.
Xbox’s countdown sale sometimes offers up to 60% off on current titles with sports games usually having the best discount with last year's countdown sale offering between 50-60% off on all current 2K sports games. Making Xbox a great choice for sports fans.
While no official date has been confirmed as of yet the Xbox countdown sale usually starts around the 20th of December and runs until early January, ending sometime around the 2nd of January.
Now, predicting when Xbox is going to have a specific developer sale is near impossible, we recommend adding the game to your wish-list so you’ll receive an email notification when it goes on sale. Visiting XB Deals is also a great way to keep track of what games are currently on sale with Xbox.
(Image credit: PlayStation)
When Is The Best PlayStation Sale?
PlayStation has a number of seasonal sale events held throughout the year, with the four flagship ones being:
Days of Play held in May.
Summer Sale held between July-August.
The Black Friday Sale is hosted around the week of Black Friday which is the 24th of November this year.
The Holiday Sale is usually held during the last two weeks of December into early January.
While decent savings can be found in each one the best savings on the biggest titles are usually found in the summer or holiday sale. PlayStation's 2022 summer sale had massive sales of up to 75% with popular PlayStation exclusive God of War selling for just £9.99, we expect this year's sale to be no different.
However, PlayStation's holiday sale had even better offerings with up to 90% off and a juicy 30% off on Game of The Year Elden Ring. So, if you're a PlayStation gamer waiting until the winter is the way to go!
You can also track the best PlayStation deals here.
(Image credit: EPIC Games)
When Is The Best Epic Sale?
Epic is likely the main contender to Steam on this list for PC gamers, the site boasts a game library almost as big as its main competitor, it also has some exclusivity deals with certain developers. Epic has sales throughout the year, however it has a unique approach to sales, you can usually receive a 25% coupon for each purchase you make that is over £11.99 encouraging you to buy more.
Epic have multiple sales a year, however their big one is the ‘Epic Mega Sale’ a massive month long sale on thousands of titles and an endless amount of coupons to net you further savings. The Epic Mega Sale is expected to take place from May 19th to June 16th this year.
Epic’s second largest sale of the year is the Epic Games Store Holiday sale, this year the savings should begin in mid-December and last until early January. Like the Mega sale you’ll find discounts on the latest titles and unlimited coupons to be used on games priced at £15.99 or more. Last year had titles like God of War, Saints Row, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, and more at a huge discount.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
When Is The Best Nintendo Sale?
Nintendo are notoriously tight fisted when it comes to dishing out deals especially on their first party titles. However, if you’re into indie games the good news is that Nintendo offers weekly sales on hundreds of indie titles, chances are you’ll find something that catches your eye.
If you’re really wanting Mario or Link for your switch, you’re going to have to wait for Nintendo’s eShop Festive Offers. This sale usually comes around during the last week of the holiday season, and last year you could save up to 60% on titles like Sonic Frontiers and Mario + Rabbids adventure which were released just two months prior.
Where Else Has Cheap Video Games?
Key Shops are a controversial one due to their business practices which negatively impact independent developers and offer very little buyer protection. The most popular ones are G2A, Kinguin, and GAMIVO, however there are thousands more. Most if not all of these key shops emulate the sales of their more respected counterparts meaning seasonal sales are held by all of them and you can get even more off their already ridiculously cheap games.
Due to the sheer volume of these sites we recommend checking out All Key Shop if you really want to buy a digital key from one of these sites. All Key Shop acts as a price comparator meaning you won't have to sift through to find the best deals.
When Is The Best Time To Buy Video Games?
If you’re looking for deals on the latest titles which usually release around November then we recommend holding off for a couple of months and buying during Black Friday and the Holiday season. If FOMO isn't an issue for you, buying during the Summer Sale is a great way to pick up some games you missed.
Hey! I'm Josh and I started working at MyVoucherCodes in March 2023. Prior to this, I studied at Cardiff Metropolitan University where I completed a Master's degree in Specialist Journalism, I also completed a Bachelor's degree in History at Liverpool John Moores University. My interest in history ultimately rekindled my love of writing, which largely stems from the aspect of deducing motive and subtext from both historical sources and contexts. However, this fascination with critical thinking has now expanded beyond that of the historical, it now pervades many aspects of my interests from the film, video games, and technical fashion to larger societal issues and the efforts being made to combat them through technological advancements. It is my desire to produce media discussing these topics at length and apply critical analysis to them.
When I'm not working, I enjoy reading, listening to music, watching films, and playing games. I'm particularly interested in Welsh history and sci-fi and fantasy genres. I also love attending Europe's biggest gaming convention in Cologne every year and e-skating during the warmer months.
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