Timing Is Everything When Looking Out For Lord Gaben’s Steam Sales

Steam sales are like Christmas, Black Friday, and a surprise tax refund all rolled into one – except they happen multiple times a year. One moment, your wishlist is filled with games you swear you’ll buy one day, and the next, Lord Gaben descends from the heavens with discounts so good they make your wallet cry.

The key to surviving these glorious events? Preparation. Because nothing hurts more than seeing a 75% off deal and realizing your funds are sitting at exactly $0.02. Steam has often recognized itself as a platform that runs off the goodwill of its customers, which is why you should take advantage of the goodwill this storefront offers in return.

Keep Your Steam Wallet Stacked And Wishlist Like A Pro

The number one rule of Steam sales? Always have funds ready to go. The worst thing you can do is hesitate when that dream game hits its lowest price ever. That’s why it’s smart to buy a Steam gift card ahead of time and keep your Steam Wallet stocked. No need to scramble for your credit card or deal with unexpected payment issues — your future self will thank you when you can snag deals without delay.

Other than that, it’s a great way to stick to a budget. Load up your wallet with a set amount and avoid that post-sale regret when you realize you spent way too much.

I know it can be challenging not to instantly spend your recently purchased gift card on the first few games you see in the store. Steam sales can make you feel like you need to buy everything because “what if it never gets this cheap again?” Spoiler: It probably will.

If you’re unsure about a game, check its past sale prices on sites like SteamDB. Some discounts return multiple times a year, so don’t panic-buy a game you won’t touch for six months just because of the timer ticking down. Trust me — patience is worth it, and extremely healthy for your bank account.

Steam’s wishlist isn’t just a way to keep track of games you might want someday — it’s your best weapon during sales. When a game on your wishlist gets discounted, Steam sends you an alert, giving you an instant heads-up that now’s the time to spend your money.

Unlike the archaic times, there’s no longer a need to sift through thousands of deals; your future favorites come straight to you. Pro tip: Keep your wishlist updated. Remove impulse additions that seemed fun for five minutes and prioritize games you’ll actually play. It’s a common practice for gamers to bloat their wishlist, devaluing the alerts they get since you might brush off anticipated discount alerts as “just another useless notification.” 

Memorize The Key Sales Dates And Bundle Up For Maximum Savings

Valve’s sales follow a predictable cycle — Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring. You can pick up these events by their rather obvious “Sale” suffix, and these are arguably Steam’s most prolific celebrations of the year. There are some smaller sales like the Lunar New Year Sale and publisher-specific discounts, too, but the juicy discounts happen on the aforementioned seasonal events, which last about a week or two.

If you know when the major sales drop, you can time your spending wisely instead of blowing all your cash two weeks before a massive price cut. Steam has a habit of displaying a giant banner of an upcoming event on its homepage weeks in advance, so you can treat that as a nudge that something’s coming.

Beyond that, there’s also one of Steam’s best-kept secrets you may not have heard of: bundles. If a game has DLC or is part of a franchise, there’s a good chance you can get everything at a much lower price. Some bundles even apply discounts to games you already own, meaning you only pay for what’s missing. As such, you should always check the bundle deals before buying a single game — it could save you a few extra bucks.

Takeaway

Vouching for giant organizations isn’t something I’m fond of, but Steam is one of the few platforms that goes the extra mile to save its user base’s hard-earned money. They know they don’t have an equal competitor aside from maybe Epic Games, so they take advantage of the fact and slam any shady pricing and practices the developers or publishers may impose.

While Steam holds its end of the bargain, it’s up to you to lay the appropriate groundwork. Explore alternatives, save up for major events, and stay active for when said events come to pass — these steps will keep you a regular, smart, and well-off customer of a storefront that clearly isn’t going anywhere.