Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Computing
  4. News

Gird your wallet: Steam’s Winter Sale is now live

Add as a preferred source on Google

Every year Steam launches a holiday-theme sales event, and every year we wind up spending more money on games than gifts for our families. Well, we hope you didn’t max out your credit cards, yet because it’s that time of the year again.

This morning the Steam Winter Sale touched down, and will come to an end next week, on December 29. That means that starting now, you’ll be able to spend a negligible amount of money on relatively new releases and – for perhaps the third or fourth time – a copy of Borderlands 2.

Recommended Videos

Steam Winter Sale On Now! Plus, Vote For The Steam Awards! #SteamSale #SteamAwards https://t.co/2Ltx8oYpVP pic.twitter.com/T3iqTvsPgI

— Steam (@Steam) December 22, 2016

This news comes only about a month after the Steam Autumn Sale, which included deals on games like Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Civilization VI. Like the previous sale, Valve is simultaneously holding a vote on the Steam Awards, which presents users with a range of different categories to pick their favorites in.

The first category, for instance, is “The Villain Most in Need of a Hug Award.” The contenders come from titles such as Borderlands 2, Dead by DaylightFar Cry 3Far Cry 4, and Portal 2. We can assume based on past sales that these games will be sold at a discount at the same time.

Just like last year, this year’s Winter Sale features some seriously deep discounts on brand-new titles and series — including the entire Doom series for 40 percent to 67 percent off. Last year we saw “thousands of games and software” marked down with Winter Sale-flavored specialty trading cards thrown into the mix. This time around, we’re seeing even more games go on sale, which makes sense, considering 38 percent of the entire Steam catalog was released in 2016, according to Steam Spy on Twitter.

It’s also not a bad time to pick up some last minute Steam Gifts for the gamers in your life.

Danny Cowan
Former Contributor
Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…
Xbox Game Pass deals are reportedly drying up, and that’s bad news for indies
Logo, Green, Recycling Symbol

Ask most players why they subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, and they'll probably mention day-one Xbox exclusives. But developers have long viewed the service differently. For many indie studios, a Game Pass deal wasn't just extra exposure — it was financial security before launch.

Landing a Game Pass deal often meant guaranteed revenue before a game even launched, reducing the financial gamble of releasing an indie title into an increasingly crowded market. Now, that safety net may not be as dependable as it once was.

Read more
I just played Ghost of Tsushima on a phone. I never thought I’d see this day and I’m not regretting this misadventure
Running Ghost of Tsushima on the Red Magic 11S Pro almost feels wrong
Red Magic 11S Pro running Ghost of Tsushima

I have tested plenty of gaming phones, but nothing quite prepared me for watching Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut boot up on the Red Magic 11S Pro. This was not cloud gaming or something like Remote Play from a PlayStation sitting somewhere else in the house. I used GameHub, linked it with Steam, and after some trial and error, had the PC version of Ghost of Tsushima running on a phone--and it was far more playable than I expected.

And yes, it looked as ridiculous as it sounds. Seeing Jin Sakai on a phone screen with a GameHub overlay, virtual shoulder buttons, and a live FPS counter sitting on top made the whole setup seem a lot more viable.

Read more
Forget console wars. Steam Machine may help kill lazy PC gaming ports
Valve’s expensive mini PC could become PC gaming’s new baseline
Steam Machine with Steam Controller

Valve’s Steam Machine has become easy to dunk on. The price starts well above current consoles, and the hardware sits somewhere between entry-level and mid-range gaming PCs rather than a monster rig. Early reviews have also talked about how demanding games need upscaling, trimmed settings, and realistic expectations.

With the ongoing memory crisis, it sounds like a rough time to bring a PC to the couch. Though the Steam Machine doesn't need to beat high-end gaming PCs or the big consoles. Its purpose was different from the start. And what really makes it better is how it could shift the PC gaming segment entirely.

Read more