Steam
Digital
Steam Spring Sale
Mar. 18 to 25, 2027
Confirmed datesVery dependable timing
The first store-wide PC sale of the year, useful for spring-break boredom and birthday planning.
Tools
Video Game Sales Calendar
Games go on sale in a rhythm, and once you can see it, you stop paying full price out of panic. This calendar maps the year: which stores to watch, when they typically discount, and how to get alerts straight from the store, so a birthday or a "please can I have it" doesn’t catch you at the worst moment.
Showing sales for Canada
Switch to United StatesStrongest period ahead
Black Friday through early January
The broadest stretch of the year: Black Friday and Cyber deals flow into December holiday sales, then Boxing Week.
Next confirmed event
Steam Autumn Sale
Oct. 1 to 8, 2026. Announced by the store, so this one you can actually plan around.
Two honest caveats before you plan: some timing below is confirmed by the store and some is just a recurring pattern (each window says which), and no sale discounts every game. Prices and participation vary by title.
The calendar
Sale windows, month by month
Pick the stores your family actually uses, or browse everything. Each window says whether its dates are confirmed or just typical, and links to its sources.
4 sale windows shown for March in Canada.
Research last verified August 31, 2026 · 4 windows shown
March 2027
4 windowsGOG
Digital
GOG Spring Sale
Mid-March to early April
Typical window · not announcedDependable timing
The first of GOG’s four seasonal sales, strong for classic games without copy protection.
Recent examples & sources
- Spring Sale ran Mar. 19 to Apr. 3, 2026
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Nintendo eShop
Digital + physical
MAR10 Day (Mario) offers
Early-to-mid March
Typical window · not announcedTiming varies
Nintendo’s annual Mario celebration (MAR10 spells "Mario") is the most dependable moment for discounts on Mario games specifically, which are otherwise rarely on sale.
Your move: If your kid wants a Mario game, this window and the November-to-December stretch are your two best shots.
Recent examples & sources
- MAR10 Day Sale ran Mar. 5 to 15, 2026, with participating retailers carrying physical deals too
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
PlayStation Store
Digital
PlayStation Spring Sale
Late March through April
Typical window · not announcedDependable timing
A broad-catalog sale that reliably returns each spring. A good first checkpoint of the year for PlayStation games.
Recent examples & sources
- Spring Sale ran Mar. 25 to Apr. 22, 2026
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Alerts, straight from the source
Stores worth watching, and how to hear from them directly
Every store below runs its own wishlists, newsletters, or deal alerts. They’re free, they come from the store itself (not from us; MPC doesn’t operate any of these), and they’re the most reliable way to catch a discount on a specific game. All of these links leave our site.
Steam
Very dependable timing · DigitalPC games. Valve publishes its four big seasonal sale dates months ahead, so you can genuinely plan around them.
Watch out: Smaller themed "Fests" are narrower events, not store-wide lows.
Open your Steam wishlist (external link, opens in a new tab)
Saving a game to your wishlist (a free watch list tied to your account) lets Steam email you when that game goes on sale. Delivery is not guaranteed for every promotion, so check notification settings.
Nintendo eShop
Timing varies · DigitalSwitch games. The broad windows repeat every year, but names, exact dates, and which games join are announced close to each event.
Watch out: Nintendo’s own games (Mario, Zelda) join sales selectively. A store-wide sale does not mean the game your kid wants is in it.
Get Nintendo email offers (external link, opens in a new tab)
Nintendo of America’s account settings cover Canada too. Turn on promotional emails to hear about sales; use Deku Deals (set to Canada) for one specific game’s price.
PlayStation Store
Dependable timing · DigitalPlayStation games. The four big sale labels come back reliably every year, which makes them good comparison windows.
Watch out: Individual games can end their discount before the sale banner does. Confirm the price and end date on the game’s own store page.
Turn on PlayStation wishlist updates (external link, opens in a new tab)
Wishlist a game (save it to your account’s watch list), then enable Wishlist Updates on the PS5 so the console tells you when it goes on sale.
Xbox / Microsoft Store
Timing varies · DigitalXbox and Windows PC games. Smaller deals run all year; the big seasonal events are less pre-announced than Steam’s.
Watch out: Before buying, check whether the game is already included in Game Pass (Xbox’s subscription) your family may already pay for.
Open your Xbox wishlist (external link, opens in a new tab)
The wishlist follows your account, not the website region. Wishlist a game and the console can notify you when it goes on sale.
Epic Games Store
Dependable timing · DigitalPC games (it’s the store behind Fortnite). The MEGA Sale and Holiday Sale are dependable anchors, and there’s a free game most weeks.
Watch out: Epic Rewards are store credit for later, not money off today. Compare the actual cash price first.
Turn on Epic wishlist emails (external link, opens in a new tab)
Wishlist a game (save it to your account’s watch list) and enable the email setting so Epic tells you when it’s discounted.
GOG
Dependable timing · DigitalPC games you want to truly own. GOG sells games without copy protection (DRM-free), so they keep working even offline or if the store changes.
Watch out: Confirm the GOG version has the same updates and add-ons as other stores’ versions before assuming it’s identical.
Subscribe to GOG news (external link, opens in a new tab)
GOG’s newsletter covers deals, giveaways, and store news. You need to be signed in to manage subscriptions.
Amazon
Dependable timing · PhysicalBoxed games, controllers, headsets, and storage. Prime events and Black Friday bring fast-moving price competition.
Watch out: Check who the seller actually is (Amazon vs. a third-party marketplace seller) and the return terms before buying.
See Amazon Canada’s Prime Day guide (external link, opens in a new tab)
Amazon’s app can alert you about deals you’re watching around Prime events. camelcamelcamel supports Amazon.ca for target-price emails.
Best Buy
Dependable timing · PhysicalConsoles, controllers, storage, boxed games, bundles, and open-box (returned, inspected, discounted) hardware.
Watch out: Stock and promotion exclusions vary, and some listings come from marketplace sellers rather than Best Buy itself.
See Best Buy Canada’s game deals (external link, opens in a new tab)
Best Buy Canada keeps dedicated gaming pages for Black Friday and Boxing Day. Our research didn’t document a Canadian signup link, so bookmark these instead.
Walmart
Dependable timing · PhysicalMainstream boxed games, consoles, and family bundles, plus weekly rollback pricing between events.
Watch out: Watch for third-party marketplace sellers and their shipping terms.
See Walmart Canada’s Black Friday deals (external link, opens in a new tab)
Walmart Canada keeps a Black Friday gaming category. Our research didn’t document a Canadian signup link, so bookmark this instead.
EB Games
Dependable timing · PhysicalTrade-ins, used games, collector editions, and store-specific bonuses (EB Games is GameStop’s Canadian banner).
Watch out: Trade values and used stock vary by store. Our research documents no official EB Games alert link, so a flyer app like Flipp is the practical way to watch its promotions.
Our research didn’t find an official alert signup for this store in Canada, so we’re not linking one.
Costco
Dependable timing · PhysicalConsole and game bundles, controllers, and discounted digital gift cards, mostly around the holidays.
Watch out: Requires a membership, and the gaming selection is a handful of items rather than a full catalog.
Our research didn’t find an official alert signup for this store in Canada, so we’re not linking one.
The curated layer
Store alerts tell you hundreds of games are cheap. They don’t tell you which ones are right for your kid.
That part is what MPC is for. When a sale worth your attention comes up, we send a short note with the handful of games we’ve actually looked at, and skip the rest.
The honesty check
Price-history tools that keep the badges honest
A "70% off" badge means nothing without knowing what the game usually costs. These free trackers show a game’s price history so you can see whether a sale price is genuinely good. They’re independent sites, not MPC projects.
Trackers we’d use
- Deku Deals (external link, opens in a new tab)
Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox price history and wishlist alerts.
Select Canada in its settings and verify the physical seller and shipping.
- IsThereAnyDeal (external link, opens in a new tab)
PC price history across authorized stores.
Covers authorized resellers; check the currency and activation region.
- SteamDB (external link, opens in a new tab)
Steam-specific price graphs and recorded lows.
Use the Canadian-dollar history; it only covers Steam.
- camelcamelcamel (external link, opens in a new tab)
Amazon.ca price charts and target-price email alerts.
Canada is a supported locale; always re-check the seller and stock.
- Flipp (external link, opens in a new tab)
Canadian weekly flyers searchable by postal code.
Useful for local inventory windows, not long-term price history.
Before you bookmark it
Common questions
5 answers
What is the difference between confirmed dates and a typical window?
Confirmed dates are published by the store itself, so you can plan on them. A typical window is a pattern: the sale has come back around the same time in recent years, but the store hasn’t promised it will this year. We label every window so you can tell which is which, and we never dress a pattern up as a promise.
Will every game be cheaper during these sales?
No. Sales are store-wide events, but each game’s publisher decides whether to join and how deep the discount goes. The game your kid wants may sit a sale out entirely. That’s why a wishlist alert on the specific game beats watching the sale banner.
What is a wishlist, and why does it keep coming up?
A wishlist is a free watch list built into a store account. You save the exact game (and the exact edition) you might buy, and the store can notify you when it goes on sale. It’s the closest thing to a price alert the stores themselves offer, and it costs nothing.
Are sale prices the lowest of the year?
Not automatically. A big percentage badge can sit on a price that was matched or beaten earlier in the year. The reliable check is a price-history tracker: compare today’s price against the game’s recorded low before buying. The tools section below lists the trackers we’d actually use.
Where does this calendar come from?
It’s built from official store announcements, published sale schedules, and retailer event pages, compiled into MPC’s own research documents and last verified on August 31, 2026. Every window links to its sources, so you can check our work.