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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 the United States
Switch to CanadaStrongest period ahead
Black Friday through early January
The broadest stretch of the year: Black Friday and Cyber deals flow into December holiday sales, then post-holiday clearance.
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
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.
38 sale windows shown for the next 12 months in the United States.
Research last verified August 31, 2026 · 38 windows shown
Epic Games Store
Digital
September
A repeatable September promotion in an otherwise quiet month for store-wide sales.
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
Late August to early September
A late-summer digital sale that commonly lands as school starts back up. Good for third-party Switch games.
Your move: Compare prices here against November before buying anything big.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Steam
Digital
Oct. 1 to 8, 2026
A store-wide PC sale with dates Valve has already published. Good for working through a wishlist before the holiday rush.
Your move: Use it to benchmark prices you’ll see again in November, and buy anything already at its recorded low.
GOG
Digital
Late October to early November
The fall entry in GOG’s seasonal rhythm, right before the Black Friday rush.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Epic Games Store
Digital
Late October to early November
A themed sale skewing to spooky titles. Worth a look, but check age ratings extra carefully in this one.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Amazon
Physical
Early-to-mid October
Amazon’s October event is an early-holiday comparison point. Prices you see here help you judge whether November "deals" are real.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Target
Physical
Late November
Target’s strongest gaming window, with extra automatic deals for free Target Circle members.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Amazon
Physical
Late November through December
Fast-moving price competition on boxed games, consoles, and accessories through the holiday stretch.
Your move: Check the seller identity and return terms; prices can change several times a day.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
GameStop
Physical
Late November
GameStop competes on boxed games and collector editions, and its pre-owned (used) section can undercut new-game sales.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Walmart
Physical
Late November
Mainstream boxed games, consoles, and family bundles at aggressive prices, with a dedicated gaming category.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Best Buy
Physical
Late November
Best Buy’s strongest window for consoles, controllers, boxed games, and bundles, with a dedicated gaming deals page.
Your move: Black Friday now stretches over weeks. Note early prices so you can judge later waves.
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
Late November to early December
Nintendo’s Black Friday moment, and one of the two broadest windows for its own games, digital and boxed. Nintendo also coordinates boxed-game prices across major retailers here.
Your move: If a first-party game (one Nintendo makes itself) is on the list, this is usually as good as its price gets before the holidays.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
GOG
Digital
Late November to early December
GOG joins the Black Friday window with store-wide discounts on its DRM-free catalog.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Costco
Physical
November through December
Console-plus-game bundles and discounted digital gift cards for members. Selection is small but the bundle math can be good.
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 + physical
Late November
The strongest PlayStation window of the year, covering digital games, hardware, accessories, and the PlayStation Plus subscription.
Your move: Check whether the game is already in PlayStation Plus before buying, and wishlist the exact edition you’d actually get.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Xbox / Microsoft Store
Digital + physical
Late November to early December
Xbox’s biggest sale of the year. The 2025 event covered more than 2,000 games, though offers vary by market.
Your move: Verify whether a purchase covers console, Windows PC, or both (Xbox Play Anywhere) before buying.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Steam
Digital
Dec. 17, 2026 to Jan. 4, 2027
The biggest PC sale of the year for many families, and it conveniently covers both gift-buying and gift-card-spending season.
Your move: Kids with holiday gift cards can stretch them a long way here. Compare against the game’s recorded low before assuming the badge is a deal.
Epic Games Store
Digital
Mid-December to early January
One of Epic’s two strongest anchors, usually with daily giveaways alongside the discounts.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
GOG
Digital
Mid-December to early January
GOG’s year-end sale, running alongside Steam’s and Epic’s winter events.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Xbox / Microsoft Store
Digital
December
Year-end promotions follow Black Friday, useful for gift cards received over the holidays.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Best Buy
Physical
December into early January
Late-December and post-Christmas clearance can surface bundles and accessories that skipped the November discounts.
Your move: Less dependable than Black Friday. Treat finds as a bonus, not a plan.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Target
Physical
December
Target maintains a running video-game deals hub through the holiday season, convenient for order pickup close to the big day.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Walmart
Physical
December
Holiday pricing continues through December, alongside the week-to-week rollbacks Walmart runs all year.
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
Late December to early January
A recurring late-December digital sale, handy for eShop gift cards received as presents.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
GameStop
Physical
Varies through the year
Clearance and trade-in promotions surface between the big events. Condition and local stock vary a lot.
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
Mid-January
A recurring digital sale right after the holidays, when kids often have unspent eShop gift cards.
Your move: Names and dates change year to year. Wait for Nintendo’s announcement before promising anything.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Nothing matches these filters this month. That can genuinely be the answer: some months are quiet. Try more stores, or reset the filters.
Steam
Digital
Mar. 18 to 25, 2027
The first store-wide PC sale of the year, useful for spring-break boredom and birthday planning.
GOG
Digital
Mid-March to early April
The first of GOG’s four seasonal sales, strong for classic games without copy protection.
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
Early-to-mid March
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.
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
Late March through April
A broad-catalog sale that reliably returns each spring. A good first checkpoint of the year for PlayStation games.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Nothing matches these filters this month. That can genuinely be the answer: some months are quiet. Try more stores, or reset the filters.
PlayStation Store
Digital + physical
Late May to early June
PlayStation’s celebration event, often pairing digital game deals with hardware and accessory offers at retailers.
Your move: If a console or controller is on the list, compare retailer prices during this window.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Epic Games Store
Digital
Roughly May through June
Epic describes MEGA Sale as an annual campaign running about a month, with discounts, giveaways, and extra perks. If your kid plays Fortnite, this is the store their account already lives on.
Your move: Treat Epic Rewards as future store credit, not as money off today’s price.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Steam
Digital
June 24 to July 8, 2027
The big summer PC sale, timed exactly for the start of school break.
GOG
Digital
Mid-June to early July
GOG’s big summer event, overlapping Steam’s. Worth comparing the two before buying a PC game.
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
Late June to early July
Nintendo’s recurring start-of-summer digital sale, landing right as school lets out.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Amazon
Physical
Usually June or July
Amazon’s summer members-only event is strongest for controllers, headsets, and storage, and it pushes other retailers to compete.
Your move: The month is predictable; the exact dates move. Wait for the current-year announcement.
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
Mid-July to mid-August
The big mid-summer PlayStation sale, well-timed for keeping the back half of summer break covered.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Xbox / Microsoft Store
Digital
July
Xbox has historically staged a large summer event (branded Ultimate Game Sale in past years) covering console and PC games.
Your move: Check Game Pass first: if the game is included in the subscription, a purchase may not be needed at all.
A recurring pattern based on recent years, not a promise. Wait for the store’s current-year announcement before treating dates as set.
Sources
Nothing matches these filters this month. That can genuinely be the answer: some months are quiet. Try more stores, or reset the filters.
Alerts, straight from the source
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.
PC 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.
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.
Switch 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.
Turn on promotional emails in your Nintendo Account settings to hear about sales and offers. For alerts on one specific game’s price, a tracker like Deku Deals works better.
PlayStation 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.
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 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.
Wishlist a game (save it to your account’s watch list) and the console can notify you when it goes on sale.
PC 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.
Wishlist a game (save it to your account’s watch list) and enable the email setting so Epic tells you when it’s discounted.
PC 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.
GOG’s newsletter covers deals, giveaways, and store news. You need to be signed in to manage subscriptions.
Boxed 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.
Amazon’s app can alert you about deals you’re watching around Prime events. For a target-price email on one item, pair it with camelcamelcamel.
Consoles, 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.
Account email preferences cover member offers and personalized deal messages.
Mainstream boxed games, consoles, and family bundles, plus weekly rollback pricing between events.
Watch out: Watch for third-party marketplace sellers and their shipping terms.
Covers sale alerts, seasonal offers, and weekly-circular updates where offered.
Boxed games, controllers, family titles, and order-pickup convenience, with extra deals through the free Target Circle program.
Watch out: Circle deals need the free membership activated, and local stock varies.
Weekly Ad highlights and top deals by email.
Free membership that applies automatic deals and personalized bonuses.
Trade-ins, pre-owned (used) games, collector editions, and store bonuses.
Watch out: Trade values, condition, and local stock vary store to store.
The email signup lives in the homepage footer. It covers promotions, coupons, releases, and events.
Console 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.
Covers Costco news, promotions, and special offers. Gaming stock still varies by warehouse.
The curated layer
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
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.
Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox price history and wishlist alerts.
Use U.S. pricing and verify the physical seller and shipping.
PC price history across authorized stores.
Covers authorized resellers; check the activation region.
Steam-specific price graphs and recorded lows.
Use the U.S.-dollar history; it only covers Steam.
Amazon price charts and target-price email alerts.
Track Amazon’s own price and third-party prices separately.
Historic sold prices for physical and retro games.
Best for used and collector value, not new-retail promotions.
Before you bookmark it
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The MPC briefing
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