Skip to main content

Grab the best games in the Steam Summer Sale before the store goes down again

Windows 7
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Steam Summer Sale has begun, and despite the growing presence of the Epic Games Store and streaming services, it still serves as one of the best ways to score big money on new games. During the sale, which runs from June 25 through July 9, you’ll be able to get games at drastically reduced prices. Not only are older titles reduced, but newer games from 2018 and even early 2019 are also on sale. Few other times during the year will we see such savings, so if you’ve been waiting to purchase that latest AAA game, now is the time.

Go to the Steam home page, and you’ll automatically be sent to the Summer Sale landing screen. A few genres are highlighted, including casual games and turn-based strategy, and next to the standard price you’ll see the current price as well as the percentage of discount. Certain franchises, such as Mortal Kombat and Civilization, have also been put into the sale as a whole, meaning you can score savings on several of their games. In the case of Mortal Kombat, you can save $10 off Mortal Kombat 11, but you can save a whopping $21 off of the previous game Mortal Kombat XL, which includes all DLC characters.

Mortal Kombat 11 review
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Below, we’ve included a list of the best game sales we’ve discovered, listing their current price and typical price. Head to the Steam Summer Sale page for a full list of discounted games.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

As you can see from the list, there is quite a bit of variety. If you’re into shooters, action games, or role-playing games, you’ll almost certainly find something worth purchasing  during the Steam Summer Sale. Indie games are offered for big discounts, as well, and as we approach July, you’ll want to have plenty of games in your backlog to help weather the summer game drought. If you happen to miss out on sales this time around, you’ll have a few other chances before the end of the year, including the Steam Winter Sale.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
When is the next Steam sale?
Custom art in a Steam library.

If you're a PC gamer, Steam is your best friend. Valve changed how the best PC games were bought and played when it created this platform and we've never looked back. Others like Epic and Ubisoft have tried to create their own launchers, but the hardcore gamers will never abandon Steam. It isn't just for convenience, either. Steam sales offer the best deals in the entire industry, with massive games regularly seeing discounts of 50%, 60%, 70% or more. Most of us hold off on buying upcoming PC games we're excited about in hopes that the price will be slashed in an upcoming Steam sale. But how long will you need to wait until the next sale? Steam sales come regularly, but if you're looking to save up for the next one, here's how long you have.
When is the next Steam sale?

The next scheduled Steam sale is the Autumn sale, which will run from November 27 through December 4. This will be the second to last major sale of the year after the Summer sale and before the Winter sale that will close out the year.

Read more
Get one of the best games of the last decade for $2 in Steam’s Summer Sale
Key art for Celeste.

During every Steam Summer Sale, tons of great indie games get massive discounts. For just a couple of dollars, you can pick up some of the best games the video game industry offers. Looking at the Featured Deep Discounts for this year's Steam Summer Sale, one indie game that stands out from the rest of the bunch is Celeste.

Released by Maddy Makes Games in 2018, Celeste is one of the best indie games of the 2010s; it even earned a rare five-star rating from Digital Trends when it launched. I had the pleasure of playing this game ahead of its wide release then, and I was completely taken aback by how it cleverly reinforces its poignant narrative themes through gameplay, which tasks players with mastering the controls and learning the layout of platforming challenges bit by bit to overcome a massive obstacle. If you haven't checked out Celeste yet, it's a steal at just $2, a 90% discount from its typical $20 price tag.

Read more
Prepare for Civilization 7 with this $3 Steam Summer Sale deal
Three Civilization 6 leaders standing above a board with the Eiffel tower on the left.

One of the most exciting announcements for PC gaming fans during Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest live stream this year was for Sid Meier's Civilization VII. It's the next entry in a long-running turn-based strategy game series about building up and thriving as a civilization from scratch. Although Sid Meier's Civilization VII does not come out until next year and doesn't even get a full gameplay reveal until August, this year's Steam Summer Sale provides players the perfect opportunity to catch up on the series.

Navigate to the Featured Deep Discounts section of the Steam Summer Sale and you'll find that Sid Meier's Civilization VI from Firaxis and 2K is available for just $3, a 95% discount from its typical $60 price tag. If you've never played a Civilization game before or want to familiarize yourself with the core tenets of the series ahead of its next entry, this Steam Summer Sale deal provides an optimal opportunity to check it out.

Read more