Gamers eagerly anticipate the start of the next Steam Sale, while simultaneously dreading its impact on their wallets. Steam Sales have become an annual event, offering discounts on a wide range of titles, including major releases. As a result, they have become a landmark moment for gamers, who eagerly countdown their arrival.
To make the most of the sale and avoid overspending, it's important to plan ahead. Here is our anticipated schedule of Steam Sales for 2023, allowing you to prepare in advance for the discounts and make informed purchasing decisions.
When is the next Steam Sale in 2023?
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. Regardless of when they start, countdowns usually begin weeks prior to those dates, and we can only blame the draw of cheaper games.
Here's a quick look at when we're expecting the next 2023 Steam sales to take place, although we'll go into further detail on each of them during the course of this Steam Sale Timeline article.
Steam Sale 2023
- Steam Chinese New Year Sale 2023 - January 18 - End of January
- Steam Base Builder Fest - January 23 - January 30
- Steam Mystery Fest - February 20 - February 27
- Steam Spring Sale 2023 - March 16 - March 23
- Steam Puzzle Fest 2023 - April 24 - May 1
- Steam Sports Fest 2023 - May 15 - May 22
- Steam Next Fest #1 2023 - June 19 - June 26
- Steam Summer Sale 2023 - June 29 - July 13
- Steam Stealth Fest 2023: July 24 - July 31
- Steam Visual Novel Fest 2023: August 7 - August 14
- Steam Strategy Fest 2023: August 28 - September 4
- Steam SHMUP Fest 2023: September 25 - October 2
- Steam Next Fest #2 2023 - October 9 - October 16
- Steam Halloween Sale 2023 - October 28 - November 1
- Steam Black Friday Sale 2023 - November 21 - November 28
- Steam Winter Sale 2023 - December 21 - January 4, 2024
Here's our expected schedule of Steam Sales for 2023, including the Spring Sale, Summer Sale, Halloween Sale, Autumn Sale, and Winter Sale dates. These times should give you a good indication of when the Steam Sales begin, although you'll also find details about when we expect a variety of festivals to go live, highlighting specific genres.
Steam Chinese New Year Sale 2023
Active between: January 18 - End of January
Although the Lunar New Year sale from previous years is no more, Steam surprised everyone when debuting the Chinese New Year Sale 2023 in the second part of January. A straightforward event with no additional bells and whistles, it discounts a variety of games from Chinese studios. In addition, it also coincides with similar events hosted separately by western publishers, so you can get games like My Time at Sandrock, Sword and Fairy 7, Forza Horizon 5, or Total War: Three Kingdoms for a lower price until the end of January.
Steam Base Builder Fest 2023
Active between: January 23 - January 30
Steam Base Builder Fest 2023 is one of several such events slated to go live throughout the year, mainly shining the spotlight on a particular genre of games. In this case, we're talking city builders and other titles that let you build a cozy base for your character, a variety of which you'll find discounted. On top of this, festivals also bring with them demos and highlight upcoming titles, being a bit more than a regular sale.
Steam Mystery Fest 2023
Active between: February 20 - February 27
Steam Mystery Fest 2023 focuses on everything mystery, as its name suggests. It's a perfect opportunity to pick up discounted narrative-driven games that feature a spy, detective or otherwise mystery-related theme. This year's discounts include titles like Norco, Pentiment, Among Us, and more.
Steam Spring Sale 2023
Active between: March 16 - March 23
Valve has revealed that, starting in 2023, it will host a Spring Sale that will receive the same amount of support as its autumn, summer, or winter counterparts. This, however, means that January's Lunar New Year sale will, however, no longer be part of the yearly schedule. Dying Light 2, Marvel's Midnight Suns, and Gotham Knights count among the discounted titles.
Steam Puzzle Fest 2023
Active between: April 24 - May 1
The Steam Puzzle Fest 2023, as its name suggests, highlights all sorts of titles that either mainly revolve around solving puzzles or prominently feature them. While it's live, games such as Baba Is You, We Were Here Forever, and Escape Simulator are discounted.
Steam Sports Fest 2023
Active between: May 15 - May 22
The Steam Sports Fest 2023, as you probably expect, is all about sports-focused titles. While it's on, you'll find discounts and demos for games such as FIFA 23, Golf With Your Friends, Blood Bowl 2, and others, covering a wide palette that caters to both casual and competitive gamers.
Steam Next Fest #1 2023
Active between: June 19 - June 26
Steam Next Fest makes a return in June 2023, acting as the perfect moment to not only discover a multitude of upcoming games to add to your wishlist, but also try out a sizeable amount of demos. While less of a sale than the other entries on this list, it's a great opportunity to prepare a wishlist for future sales.
Steam Summer Sale 2023
Active between: June 29 - July 13
The Steam Summer Sale 2023 is likely the only major mid-year opportunity for grabbing a large number of titles at a discounted price. Among its featured deals count recent releases like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the Dead Space Remake, and Hogwarts Legacy. Explore your discovery queue each day and you also get a card from the sale's limited-time set.
Steam Stealth Fest 2023
Active between: July 24 - July 31
If you're all about being sneaky and taking out enemies without being seen, the start of Steam's Stealth Fest 2023 is a clear reason to celebrate. While it's live, you can pick up games that either revolve around stealth and evasion or include it as a viable playstyle. You can find Sniper Elite 5, Little Nightmares II, Hitman World of Assassination, and many others among the discounted titles.
Steam Visual Novel Fest 2023
Active between: August 7 - August 14
Steam Strategy Fest 2023
Active between: August 28 - September 4
Steam SHMUP Fest 2023
Active between: September 25 - October 2
Steam Next Fest #2 2023
Expected to be active between: October 9 - October 16
If you miss it the first time around or happen to be too busy, Steam Next Fest #2 is a second opportunity to update your list of upcomign games and try some of them out via shorter or longer demos.
Steam Halloween Sale 2023
Expected to be active between: October 26 - November 2
The Steam Halloween Sale 2023 will likely focus mainly on horror games. If you're a fan of the genre, this is the one to look out for, especially since it tends to be accompanied by multiple in-game Halloween events. That being said, you should also find some of those non-horror titles on your wishlist discounted.
Steam Black Friday Sale 2023
Expected to be active between: November 21 - November 28
The Steam Autumn Sale 2023 is timed to coincide with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events, ensuring that PC gamers have the chance to score some great deals. In addition to game discounts, the Steam Black Friday Sale 2023 also offers players the opportunity to nominate their favorite games for the annual Steam Awards.
Steam Winter Sale 2023
Expected to be active between: December 21 - January 4, 2024
The Steam Winter Sale 2023 is the final countdown of the year, 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 stopped being the case starting with 2020.
Also check out our Epic Games Store 2023 sale schedule to keep track of more opportunities to buy cheaper games.
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