Steam Sale Dates: When Is The Next Steam Sale?
Seeking the dates for your next Steam Sale savings? It’s never too early to plan out your penny-saving schedule. Luckily, Valve’s grown into a more forthcoming attitude with their sale calendar: the dates are revealed well in advance—usually, anyway—and the seasonal sales serve as predictable quarterly landmarks. Still, with Steam now rolling out frequent genre-specific sales, it can be helpful to have someone doing the calendar-keeping for you. Good news: we’ve got your back. We’re tracking all the confirmed Steam Sale dates as they’re announced, so you can focus on keeping your wishlist up-to-date.
Steam sales happen on a pretty regular rhythm throughout the year, making them fairly easy to predict even if we don’t know the dates just yet. However the world might change, there’s always a Steam sale on the horizon.
The seasonal sales during Summer, Autumn, Winter generally offer the widest and deepest selection of discounts, and a Spring sale will take the place of the Lunar New Year sale to fill out the seasonal rotation. Between seasonal sales, there are genre-specific “Fests” offering discounts on specific categories of games.
Whether you’re looking for dates for the next genre-themed sale, or marking your calendar for the tentpole seasonal sales, here’s your handbook for the best times to expand your Steam library without emptying your wallet.
When is the next Steam sale?
The next major seasonal sale is the Steam Spring Sale, running from March 16 – March 23, 2023. A new replacement for the Lunar New Year sale, we’re hoping the Spring Sale has similar discounts to the other quarterly sale events. Before then, we’ll have genre-specific Fests for base-builders at the end of January, followed by mystery games in February.
Here are all the upcoming Steam sale dates we know so far:
Dec 22, 2022 – Jan 5, 2023: Steam Winter Sale
Jan 23 – 30, 2023: Steam Base Builder Fest
February 20 – 27, 2023: Steam Mystery Fest
March 16 – March 23, 2023: Steam Spring Sale
Steam Sales – Gabe Newell in a crown distributes discounts
How long do Steam sales last?
The Summer and Winter sales are the big ones. They tend to last two weeks (ish). Other sales like the Spring sale and Black Friday sale last about one week.
What times of the year does Steam have sales?
Steam now has sales nearly every month of the year, but the seasonal sales most folks look forward to are the Summer Sale and Winter Sale and to a lesser extent the Halloween Sale and Black Friday (Autumn) Sale.
As for which Steam sale is biggest, we tend to see the steepest discounts in the Summer and Winter sales, with the Summer sales offering the choicest selection. With Autumn and Winter sales following so close on the heels of Fall release season, there tend to be fewer big, recent titles with hefty discounts. By the following summer you can get great discounts on relatively new games. (Here’s how long it usually takes for games to get cheap on Steam.)
In the past, when we’ve rounded up the best Steam deals ever (opens in new tab), we’ve seen some remarkable discounts. Valve’s Portal 2 went from $50 to $5 in the Summer Sale a year after release.
Don’t entirely ignore the smaller, genre-themed sales throughout the year, though. They might not offer as deep discounts on as wide a selection as the seasonal sales, but they’re still worth a look if you’ve been craving the kind of gameplay being highlighted and can’t wait until the next headliner sale.
Steam Next Fest logo
(Image credit: Valve) When is the next Steam Next Fest?
The next Steam Next Fest is happening now, and runs from February 6 – 13, 2023. These festivals usually happen close to Steam’s bigger yearly sales and Valve has said that there are Next Fests also planned for June and October of 2023.
Steam Festivals (now called Next Fest) aren’t sales, exactly, but they’re another way to play games for cheap. Since 2020, Steam has been running regular festival weeks where hundreds of upcoming games offer free demos for you to play. It can be a daunting list to sort through, like sales are, but it’s a great way to try something you’ve had your eye on.
Steam sale tips
Use your wishlist
Whenever you see a game you might want, add it to your wishlist. You will receive notifications when wishlisted games are on sale and having a list makes it easier to resist buying unlisted games for the sake of it on impulse. If a game is not on your list, do you really want it?
Looking for a way to quickly fill up your wishlist? Check out our round up of the top 100 games (opens in new tab) you can play on PC today. Here are 100 other smaller games (opens in new tab) judged by algorithm to be the best hidden gems on Steam. And these are the best PC games we recommend right now.
Keep an eye on publisher bundles
Publisher bundles can knock lots of money off entire series or catalogues. If you want to buy an individual Hitman game then you might want to check for a series bundle—chances are you could get all of the games for not much more.
Snap up expansions and DLC
Expansions can often feel a little overpriced, especially if they’re only adding a few hours of new stuff to your game. In Steam sales you can pick up a lot of DLC for just a few bucks and reinvigorate games in your back catalogue.
Stock up on indie treats
You can get big percentage discounts on big budget games in the major Steam Sales, but even with a hefty trim those games can still cost 20 or 30 bucks. If you want to maximise the amount of play time you get out of a Steam sale, quality indie games go down to dollars, and even cents. If you need more storage to hold them all, these are the best SSDs for gaming right now.
You can always wait for another sale
If you’re not going to play a game before the next big Steam sale rolls around, you might as well wait. Chances are the discounts will increase as the annual sales roll by, all while you’re clearing your backlog.
It’s also much easier to wait on a purchase these days because there are no daily or flash deals. If you see a discount, you know that’s going to be stable until the end of the sale so you can wait a few days to make a decision. Maybe that’ll give you time to upgrade to one of the best gaming PCs, or pick out a new graphics card if you need to upgrade.
Check on weekends for publisher or themed sales
It’s not uncommon for a publisher to showcase all of its products on sale during a weekend, an event which is usually marked by a homepage takeover of sorts. Look out for these if you’re after a blockbuster game at a better price.
Consider Steam resellers if you don’t want to wait for a sale
Check out our guide on where to buy PC games (opens in new tab), if you want more places to shop around.
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Get 15% Off During Mejuri’s ‘Diamond Week’ Sale Just In Time For V-day
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Mejuri has gained a cult following for chic, affordable jewelry over the years, so when the brand goes on sale, we’d be remiss not to share. Known for unique, trademark designs–often named after pastries, the styles are fine and semi-fine–not costume, ensuring longevity and sparkle for a long time to come. The brand typically only has one sale annually during Black Friday, so it’s unprecedented to be granted a second sale of the year (thank you, diamond angels!) just in time for Valentine’s Day.
During Mejuri’s ‘Diamond Week’ sale, you’ll find plenty of newly-launched, ethically-sourced diamond jewelry, while many of the most popular pieces are also included in the 15% discount. There are also recently launched new exclusives in white gold and fan favorites like the diamond initial charm.
I prefer white metals like silver and white gold (when budget permits), and Mejuri’s selection is generous for both. Though I purchased a Jewelry Care Kit for my treasures, I have not once yet needed to polish them, and they still shine quite remarkably. The jewelry elevates any outfit, whether casual or a little dressier, making them infinitely useful for different occasions. Sometimes I put them on while lounging at home just because they bring me joy.
Mejuri’s tagline is to “buy yourself the damn diamond,” a simple concept that empowers you to not wait for someone else to buy you the gifts you really want. But if you are buying what will be a very well-received gift for Valentine’s Day, make sure to place your order by February 8 to receive it in time. The sale runs from February 1-7, so score your shiny bling now or miss out on the best prices and selection.
Diamond Letter Charm
Down from $225
Made of solid gold and high-quality diamonds, the letter charm is one of the brand’s top sellers, and also under $200 during the sale (the chain is not included).
Heart Pavé Diamond Pendant Necklace
15% off
Mejuri offers several heart designs in yellow and white gold, as well as colorful enamel like pink, white and black making truly unusual pieces.
Marshmallow Huggie Earrings
These high-volume, puffed up huggies are handcrafted in sterling silver and set with topaz shimmers for extra shine.
Mejuri’s Diamond Week
15% off
Understated pieces with big impact.
