There are two camps when it comes to buying video games. People who want to join the conversation right away, and people who don’t mind waiting a bit before signing a great video game deal. In the complex and huge world of video game trading, these two needs may converge into one. But generally speaking, the best way to buy a video game, whether it’s PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PC, is to wait.
For example, it’s no secret that the best time to buy a Ubisoft game is the first few weeks after launch. Ubisoft is often generous with its video game deals, so if you don’t need to play the latest Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry at all, just wait a minute. That deal could get even better as time goes on. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a great example. A full-price game when it launched in 2017, it’s now available for under $20. And it’s also a great game.
best video game deals
Jump to the best video game deals on your preferred platform by clicking one of the links below.
Best PS5 Video Game Deals
Best Nintendo Switch Video Game Deals
Best Xbox Video Game Deals
Best PC Gaming Deals
When do the best video game deals happen?
Video games are always on sale. In some cases, these trading prices are the lowest they have ever been, and in other cases they occur over unexplained periods of time. While you’ll always find games on sale, the absolute best times to score game deals usually fall into two categories: Special Publisher His Events and Black His Fridays.
Black Friday Video Game Deals
Undoubtedly, Black Friday is a great time to land big deals on everything, especially video games. Once upon a time, Black Friday was the Friday right after Thanksgiving, but the event now spans a period of 2-3 weeks from the weekend before Thanksgiving to Cyber Week (the week immediately following Black Friday). became.
That said, the brunt of these video game deals hits at the start of the Black Friday shopping spree, sometimes as early as Sunday afternoon. Many of these quick deals last until the actual Black Friday date, but the absolute cream of the crop often sells out before Monday. , so be sure to follow us. on Twitter @IGNDeals Bookmark the official IGN deals page.
Publisher Game Deal Event
Outside of Black Friday, special publisher and storefront deal events are the absolute best way to overload your backlog for less. We all know how hard it is to resist a 90% price drop even with a backlog of 100 games. The biggest downside is that while Black Friday is predictable, most publisher events are unpredictable, with the exception of things like Nintendo’s “MAR10 Day” promotion around March 10th each year. Here are some major video game trading events to watch out for.
- PlayStation Days of Play event
- This usually happens around E3 in June, or at least what used to be E3. In the PS4 era, Sony would even offer limited-edition Days of Play consoles in addition to big savings on games.
- Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- It’s similar in scope, size, and duration to PlayStation sales events, with big discounts on Xbox games, as well as sales on controllers, Xbox Game Pass, and more.
- nintendo eshop summer sale
- This also happens early in the summer, when Nintendo cuts the price of many first-party games to under $40 and offers massive deals on indie games and more.
- steam sale
- Perhaps the most legendary and well-known video game trading event, Valve sells content from its vast PC game library several times a year. game.
There are plenty of other trading events, but those are easily the biggest and best.
When does a game deal actually become a deal?
Sometimes a game has been on sale for a very long time, but that’s just the new price, so it’s not really a “deal”. You can see that there are The IGN Deal Team is dedicated to only facing new legitimate deals. But when you get down to business browsing deals, you’ll know when a game becomes a perpetual deal.
You can also check the price on sites like camelcamelcamel to be sure if it’s a new discount or just a new lower price masquerading as a discount. Amazon also started adding small notes to some products, such as “Lowest price in 30 days.”
Seth Macy is the Executive Editor of IGN Commerce and would love to be your friend. You can see that he hosts his Nintendo Voice Chat podcast.
