Now that E3 2017 is behind us and the awards are dished out, the summer season is upon us, and that means huge discounts and not enough money in our wallets to scoop up everything we want. The discount bonanza started with the E3-specific sales from Sony and Nintendo followed by the likes of Good Old Games, GameFly, and the current Steam Summer Sale. Now we have to deal with Microsoft’s upcoming Ultimate Game Sale, and our wallets are hating us already.
Starting Friday and concluding July 10, Microsoft is slashing the prices of games, gaming hardware, and accessories sold through the Windows Store, Xbox Store, and Microsoft Store. Microsoft promises savings of up to 50 percent on the Xbox and Windows 10 platforms although the company is not coughing up any early numbers. If we are lucky, Microsoft will hack the prices of its Xbox Play Anywhere cross-play library too.
Until Microsoft updates its blog on Friday with its entire list of discounts, Xbox and Windows 10 gamers will have to suffice with the company’s new Ultimate Game Face Sweepstakes providing gamers with a chance to win one of two Ultimate Prize Packages. The promotion has already begun and ends at 11:59 p.m. (PT) on July 10.
To enter, participants must share their Ultimate Game Face via Twitter, Instagram, or both. All images must include the #UltimateGameFace hashtag along with the hashtag for the gamer’s target grand prize: #PCSweepstakes2017 or #XboxSweepstakes2017.
But don’t brush off Microsoft’s new sweepstakes just yet. You might want to get your serious game face on after checking out what Microsoft is cramming into its two prize packs:
| Ultimate Xbox Gaming Prize Pack | Ultimate PC Gaming Prize Pack |
| Custom Designed Xbox One S | Alienware Aurora R6 Gaming Desktop |
| Custom Designed Xbox Elite Controller | Alienware 25” Gaming Monitor |
| $1,000 Xbox Gift Card | Alienware Pro Gaming Keyboard |
| Samsung 55” Class Q7F QLED 4K TV | Alienware Elite Gaming Mouse |
| Seagate Game Drive for Xbox (4TB) | $1,000 Windows Store Gift Card |
| HyperX CloudX Pro Gaming Headset | HyperX Cloud II Headset |
| YETI Hopper Two 20 Cooler | YETI Hopper Two 20 Cooler |
| Oakley Kitchen Sink Backpack | Oakley Kitchen Sink Backpack |
“All elements must be included to be eligible,” the rules state. “The account settings for this message must be set to “unprotected” or “public” to be eligible. For doing this, you will receive one Sweepstakes entry into the prize package you tagged in your post. There is a limit of one (1) entry per person PER platform, for an overall maximum of two (2) entries — one on Twitter and one on Instagram.”
As for Microsoft’s upcoming Ultimate Game Sale, some of the games flashed in its promotional trailer include Gear of War 4, Halo Wars 2, Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3, Recore, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Fallout Shelter (in-game items), Roblox (in-game items), Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.
