When Is the Next Steam Sale? Here Are the Steam Sale Dates (2024)

Steam sales are a beloved part of PC gaming culture. These events see hundreds of price cuts on blockbuster games, indie darlings, and everything in between. They typically run for about a week, and they're an excellent way to save money while filling up your library with a boatload of great games.

When Is the Next Steam Sale?

The next Steam sale is the Steam Summer sale, which kicks off on November 21, 2023, and runs until November 28, 2023. This is Steam's big sale for the Fall months.

Steam sales generally start at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, which is 1 p.m. Eastern Time, on the first day of the sale. They end at the same time on the last day of the sale.

Valve now announces its sales in advance, making it easy for you to prepare your wallet and carve out some time to check in on the deals. Here's a full list of major Steam sales in 2023. This includes the popular Steam Summer Sale, Steam Autumn Sale, Steam Winter Sale, and Steam Spring Sale. These are the four big seasonal sales when a large number of games are on sale.

• Steam Spring Sale: March 16 to March 23, 2023
• Steam Summer Sale: June 29 to July 13, 2023
• Steam Autumn Sale: November 21 to November 28, 2023
• Steam Winter Sale: December 21, 2023 to January 4, 2024

Keep in mind that most Steam sales run parallel to standard shopping holidays---such as Black Friday---so if you see other retailers discounting products, it might be worth loading up Steam to see if there are any notable deals.

Steam also offers a smaller number of sales throughout the year when games of a certain genre are on sale. For example, many puzzle games will be on sale during the "Puzzle Fest." Valve also has a two big Steam "Next Fests" a year, which feature playable demos of upcoming games. Here's a full list of those smaller Steam sale events and fests for 2023:

• Base Builder Fest: January 23 to January 30, 2023
• Mystery Fest: February 20 to February 27, 2023
• Puzzle Fest: April 24 to May 1, 2023
• Sports Fest: May 15 to May 22, 2023
• Next Fest: June 19 to June 26, 2023
• Visual Novel Fest: August 7 to August 14, 2023
• Strategy Fest: August 28 to September 4, 2023
• SCHMUP Fest: September 25 to October 2, 2023
• Next Fest: October 9 to October 16, 2023
• Steam Scream Fest (Halloween): October 26 to November 2, 2023

While we won't know what games are seeing discounts until a Steam sale begins, you can get a good idea of what to expect based on previous events. For example, here's a look at our favorite game deals from the Steam Summer Sale 2022, which includes big names like Hades, Psychonauts 2, The Outer Worlds, and more.

Some of the best discounts during Steam sales tend to be for DLC content, highly reviewed indies, or games that launched a few years ago. New releases might be included in the catalog, although don't expect to see anything more than a few bucks shaved off their price tag. Your best bet is to use Steam sales to stock up on DLC for your favorite games or pick up older titles you may have missed.

How Often Does Steam Do Sales?

Steam holds four major season sales every year. These are the Steam Spring Sale, Steam Summer Sale, Steam Autumn Sale, and Steam Winter Sale.

Steam used to hold a Lunar New Year sale instead of a Steam Spring Sale, but Valve changed this in 2022 to ensure the sales are more spread out. The Steam Lunar New Year Sale was too close to the Steam Winter Sale in December.

In addition to these major sales, Valve frequently holds smaller sales for other events. For example, Steam typically has a Halloween Sale with festive games, but there aren't as many games on sale as during the big seasonal sales.

Something's always on sale on Steam, however---check the Steam storefront to see what's on sale today.

How to Prepare for the Next Steam Sale

Knowing the dates of the next Steam sale is the first step to saving money. The next step is to actually build a game plan. If you need some help, we've put together an extensive list of things you can do to prepare for the next Steam sale. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Put your favorite games on your Wishlist to receive notifications when they go on sale.
• Keep your eyes peeled for Bundle Sales, which offer steep discounts across an entire series of games.
• Use third-party tools, such as IsThereAnyDeal, to track game prices and ensure you're getting the lowest price.
• Check other storefronts. Steam typically isn't the only retailer running big sales events, so poke around on the Humble Store, Fanatical, and Green Man Gaming to see if they have better offers.

Expect More Than Steam Sales

While the official Steam sales are the biggest events on the platform, they're far from the only savings you'll see throughout the year. Several years ago, Valve began allowing developers and publishers to run their own discounts. This means that there's good reason to check into Steam every day, as you never know when a publisher will offer huge price cuts on its catalog. These sales tend to drop without much notice, and they don't often run for more than a week.

You'll also find a handful of discounts on weekends (Weekend Deals) and in the middle of the week (Midweek Madness) that are worth checking out. All these promotions essentially mean that Steam always has a game or two on sale, although their chaotic nature makes it hard to plan for them. Instead, you'll simply need to get lucky and check in at the right time to score the best deals.

While you're waiting for the next sale, why not check out the free games on Steam you can play right now without paying a cent?