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Microsoft’s ‘Countdown’ Xbox game sale is now underway

By Kris Wouk December 22, 2015

Last week we reported that Microsoft was teasing a sale starting this week that it was calling its biggest sale ever. Today is the first day of the “Countdown” Xbox game sale, and if you’ve been holding off on picking up a few choice games for the Xbox One or Xbox 360, there is likely no better time than now to get buying.

This first week of deals runs from today until December 28, according to Microsoft’s Major Nelson. The entire “Countdown” sale runs until December 31, with another sale running until January 7 to ring in the New Year. In addition to the weekly deals, daily deals will also be available.

Today’s daily deals are below:

Need for Speed (Xbox One) – $24
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (Xbox 360) – $4
Popcap bundle (Xbox One) – $15

Highlights of the “Countdown” sale include Rise of the Tomb Raider, which was released just last month and can be had for $40, with the Deluxe Edition of the game going for under $70, which puts it $20 lower than its usual price. Halo 5: Guardians is also marked down, but only by 20 percent, with the Digital Deluxe edition marked down by 25 percent.

Other popular Xbox One games on sale include The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for $30, Grand Theft Auto V for $42, and Destiny: The Taken King – Legendary Edition for $40. A number of movies and TV shows are also on sale.

If you happen to be an Xbox Live Gold member, you’ll get an additional 10 percent off any game included in the sale. If you’re not seeing the prices displayed, Major Nelson mentions that you’ll need to be signed into your Xbox Live account to see prices in your local currency.

For the full list of games on sale, head over to Major Nelson’s blog. Do note, however, that the list includes the standard Deals With Gold and Spotlight Sale deals in addition to those from the “Countdown” sale.

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Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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