You’ll be able to save some serious cash on some of the best PC games around throughout 2022, with Valve announcing its schedule for a series of sales on its Steam store.
The good news is that the first half of 2022 looks pretty packed with opportunities to bag some bargains. Steam’s sales are often great ways to boost your to-play pile, cutting the prices of some brilliant games. In fact, there’s a sale winding up right now, with the Steam Lunar New Year sale, which ends on February 3.
If you miss out on that, then you don’t have long to wait, as the next sale, titled ‘Remote Play Together’ will start on February 28.
This will focus on games that make use of Steam’s Remote Play Together feature, which allows you to play local multiplayer games with friends across the internet. It also kicks off a series of ‘Themed Sales’ that will run in the coming months, which gives us an idea of what kind of games will be on sale.
According to Valve, this is what the current schedule looks like:
- 28th February-7th March – Remote Play Together
- 14th-21st March – JRPG
- 28th March-4th April – SimFest: Hobby Edition
- 2nd-9th May – Die-a-lot
- 23rd-30th May – Racing
- 18th-25th July – Survival
Valve also announced that there will be a ‘Next Fest’ from February 21 – 28, which will offer up plenty of games for people to try out before they buy.
Then, there will be Steam’s big Summer Sale, which will run from June 23 to July 7.
More discounts coming
Valve has also tweaked its rules that regulate how often developers can put their titles on sale. At the moment, developers can only discount their games every six weeks, but from March 28, this time will be cut to four weeks.
This could lead to more regular sales – and Valve has also put in place rules to ensure this isn’t abused, such as preventing discounts from happening straight after a price increase, for example.
Analysis: Another win for PC gamers
Steam’s sales are often the highlight of the year for many PC gamers, as they often bring big discounts to some brilliant titles, and allow gamers to bolster their games libraries for not much money.
Valve’s 2022 sale schedule, along with its new discount rules, means PC gamers will be getting plenty of chances to save money on various Steam games.
These sales occur much more regularly than similar ones on games consoles. This means that while gaming on PC often involves a much higher entry price, in the long term, PC gaming can actually be quite cost-effective, especially these days where console games often start at $70/£70.
With the much-anticipated Steam Deck handheld console coming soon, these sales will also give gamers ample opportunities to build up their Steam libraries before they get their hands on one.
Via Eurogamer