I first discovered Steam in university — until then, I’d never had my own computer, so the allure of PC gaming proved irresistible. What started as a humble dozen games, like Doom 3 and Half-Life, blossomed into a collection of over 220 titles, thanks mainly to Steam sales (please don’t ask how many items from my library I’ve actually played). Steam is one of the most popular PC gaming platforms, selling more than 718 million total games in 2024, according to Statista. The digital PC gaming service boasts a massive catalog of over 89,000 titles.
Steam runs four major seasonal sales — winter, spring, summer and fall — plus smaller sales called “fests” in between. The Steam Winter Sale has landed, running Dec. 18, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026. There are tons of discounts on everything from blockbuster titles to indie games and older gems, so you can rake in the savings. Whether you’re trying to save a few bucks on one of the latest big-name AAA games, want to add more indie games to your digital shelf or need to fill up your Steam Deck hard drive, here’s everything you need to know about when Steam sales are and how to save money.
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When are the next Steam sales?
There are four main Steam seasonal sales. The current big Steam Sale — the Steam Winter Sale — runs Dec. 18, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026. Typically, the Steam Winter and Summer Sales last about two weeks, whereas the Spring and Autumn Sales last for one week, give or take.
- Steam Winter Sale (Dec. 18, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026)
- Steam Spring Sale (March 19-26, 2026)
- Steam Summer Sale (was June 26 to July 10, 2025)
- Steam Autumn Sale (was Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, 2025)
How often are Steam sales?
Steam Sales are frequent, with at least one per month. While the big seasonal sales are quarterly — winter, fall, spring and summer — there are dozens of smaller sales or fests. Typically, these Steam discount days revolve around a particular theme, with lowered prices on titles within a certain genre, like fighting games or roleplaying games.
Here are the best Steam Winter Sale deals and discounts
The deals are piling up, with sweet savings on everything from recent releases to oldie-but-goodie games. Here are the discounted titles we’d recommend picking up.
The latest and greatest
- Baldur’s Gate 3, 25% off (was $60, now $45)
- Split Fiction, 25% off (was $50, now $37.49)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, 20% off (was $50, now $40)
- Hollow Knight: Silksong, 20% off (was $20, now $16)
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows, 50% off (was $70, now $35)
- Monster Hunter Wilds, 45% off (was $70, now $38.49)
- Hades II, 25% off (was $30, now $22.49)
Don’t call it a come back
- The Thing Remastered, 35% off (was $30, now $19.49)
- Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition, 40% off (was $20, now $12)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, 33% off (was $50, now $33.49)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, 60% off (was $40, now $16)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, 40% off (was $50, now $30)
- Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, 70% off (was $30, now $9)
- Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered, 50% off (was $30, now $15)
- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, 40% off (was $60, now $36)
- Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, 40% off (was $70, now $42)
Deep discounts
- Hogwarts Legacy, 90% off (was $60, now $6)
- Mass Effect Legendary Edition, 90% off (was $60, now $6)
- Control Ultimate Edition, 85% off (was $40, now $6)
- Star Wars, Jedi Survivor, 85% off (was $70, now $10.49)
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Trilogy, 90% off (was $50, now $5)
- Overcooked, 90% off (was $17, now $1.69)
- Overcooked 2, 75% off (was $25, now $6.24)
- Detroit: Become Human, 90% off (was $40, now $4)
- Hitman World of Assassination Part One, 90% off (was $30, now $3)
Oldies but goodies
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, 75% off (was $40, now $10)
- Alice Madness Returns, 75% off (was $10, now $2.49)
- Freedom Fighters, 90% off (was $15, now $1.49)
- Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, 90% off (was $15, now $1.49)
- Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, 60% off (was $20, now $8)
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, 60% off (was $40, now $16)
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy, 65% off (was $40, now $14)
- Castlevania Anniversary Collection, 60% off (was $20, now $8)
- Mega Man X Legacy Collection, 60% off (was $20, now $8)
- Contra Anniversary Collection, 60% off (was $20, now $8)
Here’s how I save money with Steam sales (and you can too)
Take advantage of your wish list
Adding games to your Steam wish list simplifies figuring out what to snag — or skip — during a sale. You can sort your wish list by discount, so finding the biggest savings is a breeze.
Add a game to your wish list whenever you see one you like the look of but don’t immediately want to play. Then, during a Steam sale, pop in, sort by discount and see which prices have plummeted the most. Or, you can arrange your wish list in order of your most wanted titles, then choose what to buy that way during one of the upcoming Steam sales.
Use SteamDB to find the largest discounts
SteamDB is an excellent source for uncovering deals. Its many filters let you sort attributes, including discount percentage, rating, price or reviews, making it a helpful Steam sales tracker. You can even narrow down a list based on platform — Windows, Linux or MacOS — and features like controller support. I’ve even used SteamDB to nab free games, like a no-cost copy of Tell Me Why.
I typically hop into SteamDB during a Steam sale to look for hefty discounts on highly rated games. It’s worth checking SteamDB even outside of seasonal sales and fests if you want to expand your Steam collection.
Shop for older titles, indie games, DLC and complete catalogs
Often, newer AAA games get heavy markdowns — but because of their usually high price tags, even the discounted cost isn’t cheap. However, you can find wallet-friendly older games, indies or downloadable content. For instance, I picked up a copy of The Sum of All Fears for just $2, which wasn’t even during a Steam sale.
Complete publisher catalogs or franchise bundles save you a ton of money. I’ve seen the Activision Collection bundle — typically $900 — for as low as $355. While over $350 might not be pocket change, the per-title breakdown is pretty cost-effective when you’re getting 53 games. Similarly, I’ve seen the Call of Duty Franchise bundle for $443, a steep drop from its usual $1,010.
You can often get DLC packs pretty cheap during Steam sales, which provide more in-game content to enjoy. On the other hand, these comprehensive bundles might lead you to overspend if you’re not actually planning on playing, say, every single Call of Duty game under the sun.
Check your other game libraries to make sure you’re not double-dipping
Although Steam is incredibly popular, it’s not the only source for digital game purchases. Check your other libraries on GOG, Epic, EA Origin and Xbox Game Pass, for instance, to ensure you’re not double-dipping. While you could buy Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam and GOG, you probably don’t need two copies.
Cross-shop deals on other platforms
With many Steam alternatives, including GOG, Epic, Origin and Fanatical, you can find sweet discounts from several outlets. While you can — and should — check those individual storefronts, IsThereAnyDeal is a comprehensive source for savings. So you might notice a great deal on Skyrim from Steam, but it might be available at an even lower price at Epic at the same time.
Set a budget
Adding a bunch of games to your cart can be tempting, especially with prices slashed by 75% or more. However, lots of cheap games can still add up. I typically set a budget — whether it’s monetary or a limit on the number of games — and stick to that.
Don’t feel compelled to buy anything
The best way to save money is by not spending it in the first place. I know, it’s tempting to load up your cart with $5 or $10 games, which is nearly as gratifying as an in-game loot grab. But only buy what you’ll play now or soon after purchasing. While there are rare instances where games get delisted on Steam, chances are if you pass up on a sweet deal, it’ll still be available during the next Steam sale.
A complete list of Steam sale dates
Outside of Steam’s seasonal sales, there are different genre-themed sales or fests. Steam fests revolve around a genre or game theme. Here are all of the Steam fests announced so far for 2026, along with examples of Steam games on sale you might find:
- Detective Fest (Jan. 12 to 19, 2026): Get your sleuth on and solve crimes with sweet savings on detective games such as Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter, and Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars.
- Board Game Fest (Jan. 26 to Feb. 2, 2026): Bring the board games to your computer monitor, laptop screen or Steam Deck with discounts on titles like Ticket to Ride, Cluedo and Wingspan.
- Typing Fest (Feb. 5 to 9, 2026): Let your fingers fly and snag some typing games such as Typing of the Dead and Typefighters at slashed prices.
- PvP Fest (Feb. 9 to 16, 2026): Plunge into player-versus-player fun — you could see sales on games like Arc Raiders and The Elder Scrolls Online.
- Horse Fest (Feb. 19 to 23, 2026): Try to rein in your excitement while adding titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2, The Ranch of Rivershine and Rival Stars Horse Racing to your cart.
- Steam Next Fest February 2026 Edition (Feb. 23 to March 2, 2026): Highlights of upcoming games — demos, livestreams and developer chats.
- Tower Defense Fest (March 9 to 16, 2026): Hold down the fort and stock up on tower defense titles like Stronghold Crusader and Plants vs. Zombies Replanted.
- Steam Spring Sale 2026 (March 19 to 26, 2026): Now’s the time to stock up on games that you may or may not actually get around to playing with widespread deals.
- House & Home Fest (March 30 to April 6, 2026): Get your HGTV on with titles such as House Flipper and Tiny House Simulator.
- Hidden Object Fest (April 9 to 13, 2026): You don’t have to look that hard for these discounts on games like Mystery Case Files, Hidden Folks or Wind Peaks.
- Deckbuilders Fest (May 4 to 11, 2026): Stack your cart with on-sale games like Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Balatro and Slay the Spire.
- Ocean Fest (May 18 to 25, 2026): Dive into discounts on titles like Maneater, Subnautica and Dave the Diver.
When is the next Steam Next Fest?
There’s an upcoming Steam Next Fest running from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2026. Steam Next Fests highlight upcoming game releases, featuring developer chats, free playable game demos and livestreams. Some of the most played demos from the June 2025 Steam Next Fest included Vindictus: Defying Fate, Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive and Ferocious. For more, check out the 10 best Steam Next Fest games you need to wishlist.
Here’s what I bought on Steam recently
So what did I stock up on at a recent Steam Sale? Mass Effect Legendary Edition — three games for $2 apiece was too good a deal to skip. I also snagged Middle-earth: Shadow of War. While I picked up Shadow of Mordor at a previous Steam Sale, I’ve not yet added its sequel to my metaphorical shelf. As a big cinephile and fan of movie tie-in games (like Peter Jackson’s King Kong), I was excited to get Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine alongside Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb for $4 total.
Although I own it in EA Origin, I snagged a $1 copy of Alice: Madness Returns, because at that price, it was too juicy a discount to pass up. I grabbed Heavy Rain and Red Dead Redemption during the Steam Spring Sale. I also completed my collection of the Sherlock Holmes games by snagging Sherlock Holmes Chapter One and Sherlock Holmes The Awakened. I snagged Life is Strange: Double Exposure during the 2025 Steam Summer Sale.
During the Steam Autumn Sale 2025, I picked up Lost Records: Bloom & Rage along with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
For the Steam Winter Sale 2025, I nabbed Freedom Fighters for $1.49.
How to get the most out of Steam once you’ve ravaged your wallet during a Steam sale
Once you’ve drained your bank account dry on games you’ll likely never play, there’s a lot more you can do with Steam, like sharing your library with friends or family, using Remote Play Together and adding non-Steam games. I suggest installing the Steam Link app on your phone, tablet or streaming device for playing your games away from your PC. You can also game on the go with the Steam Deck or another handheld gaming console like the Asus ROG Ally. Or, you can share your Steam library with up to five family members using Steam Families.
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