Awaited by gamers yet dreaded by their wallets, Steam Sales are unlikely to cease in 2021. They have become landmark moments of the year when tons of titles get discounted, including some of the year's major releases.
Since preparing for Steam Sales ahead of time is important for the judicious spender (at least until we're faced with the sheer amount of discounted stuff and inevitably buy more than we could ever hope to play), here's our expected schedule of Steam Sales for 2021.
Several Steam Sales take place throughout the year, giving ample opportunities for players to complete their collections at a discounted price.
Some Steam sales have made a habit of beginning on Thursdays, at 10 AM PDT/ 7 PM GMT, however, there have been exceptions in the past.
Here's a quick look at when we're expecting to see 2021's Steam sales take place, although we'll go into further detail on each of them during the course of this Steam Sale Timeline article.
Steam Sale 2021
- Steam Lunar Sale 2021 - January 21 - January 25
- Steam Golden Week Sale 2021 - April 30 - May 6
- Steam Spring Cleaning Event 2021 - May 20 - May 27
- Steam Summer of Pride Sale 2021 - June 8 - June 24
- Steam Summer Sale 2021 - June 24 - July 8
- Steam Halloween Sale 2021 - October 28 - November 1
- Steam Autumn Sale 2021 - November 24 - November 30
- Steam Winter Sale 2021 - December 21 - January 4
Here's our expected schedule of Steam Sales for 2021, including the Lunar Sale, Summer of Pride, Summer Sale, Halloween Sale, Autumn Sale, and Winter Sale dates.
Steam Lunar Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: February 11 - February 15
Depending on who you ask, the Steam Lunar Sale 2021 is either the first sale of the year or "that sale after the big Steam winter sale." Regardless of how you view it, the Steam Lunar Sale 2021 comes with its own series of discounts while potentially introducing a new minigame.
Steam Golden Week Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: April 30 - May 6
The Steam Golden Week Sale 2021 celebrates Japanese video game developers. We expect it to take place during the Golden Week itself – which is a period starting on April 29 that contains multiple Japanese holidays – and feature discounts for games from publishers like Capcom, Bandai Namco, Square Enix and others.
Steam Spring Cleaning Event 2021
Expected to be active between: May 20 - May 27
Although the Steam Spring Cleaning Event 2021 isn't a traditional sale, it could prove a good way of diving into our backlogs and playing some stuff that remained neglected for too long.
Steam Summer of Pride Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: June 8 - June 24
if it follows the same pattern as in the past, the Steam Summer of Pride Sale 2021 will shine the spotlight on lots of queer-positive games, both upcoming and released. Its discounts largely apply to indie titles, usually covering a variety of genres.
Steam Summer Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: June 24 - July 8
The Steam Summer Sale 2021 will likely be the only major mid-year opportunity for grabbing a large number of titles at a discounted price. While it didn't feature any minigames last year, buying games got you points which could be spent on cosmetic items like animated stickers from games such as CS:GO and Doom Eternal. Each day, you could also get a free sticker and one trading card for going through your Discovery queue.
Steam Halloween Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: October 28 - November 1
The Steam Halloween Sale 2021 will likely be the one with the spooks. While horror games will also be discounted throughout the year, Steam Halloween Sales mainly focus on them. If you're a horror fan, this is the one to look out for, especially since it tends to be accompanied by multiple in-game Halloween events.
Steam Autumn Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: November 24 - November 30
The Steam Autumn Sale 2021 targets the period around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making sure that PC gamers don't miss out on some sweet discounts. Aside from cheaper games the Steam Autumn Sale 2021 also lets players nominate their favorite titles for the end-of-year Steam Awards.
Steam Winter Sale 2021
Expected to be active between: December 21 - January 4
The Steam Winter Sale 2021 is the big one, the sale everyone is anticipating, the emptier of wallets and grower of libraries. The most significant discounts are active now, alongside voting for the yearly Steam Awards. In past years, each new Winter Sale came with a minigame of its own, but this wasn't the case in 2020.
Also check out our Epic Games Store 2021 sale schedule to keep track of more opportunities to buy cheaper games.
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