As reliable as the new year, Valve's annual Steam Winter Sale for 2018 has arrived, bringing with it some of the best sales and discounts that PC game buyers will find anywhere on the internet. In fact, Valve claims that over 15,000 games are featured in this year's Steam Winter Sale. Potential buyers can peruse the discounts between now and January 3, when the event will end and go back into hibernation for another year.
Already some of the top sellers from Steam's autumn sale are climbing back into the "Top Sellers" list for the Steam Winter Sale. Many of the discounted prices haven't changed much between the two sales since it has only been a couple of weeks, but there are a bunch of great deals on some very popular games from 2018 and earlier:
- Monster Hunter World - 34% Off - $39.59
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - 50% Off - $29.99
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - 33% Off - $19.99 (Vikendi Survivor Pass Bundle $24.99)
- Grand Theft Auto V - 50% Off - $14.99
- Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition - 35% Off - $29.24
And several surprises are selling well, too, including the XCOM 2 Collection, MMO Black Desert, and recently released tactical shooter Insurgency: Sandstorm. Odds are that if there's a game that's been on anyone's wishlist for a while, it's now discounted to a noteworthy degree.
This year's Steam Winter Sale theme takes after a Christmas advent calendar, prompting users to visit the "Extremely Cozy Cottage of Surprises." Each day Steam users can open up the Extremely Cozy Cottage and another of the cottage's doors, framed as such:
"In the midst of your dreary winter travels, you stumble upon a light-filled getaway. The owners greet you warmly and happily give you treats of varying usefulness."
For each door opened in the advent calendar, participants will get three "treats." These treats can include Steam Profile Backgrounds, Emoticons, and what Steam is calling knick-knacks. The knick-knacks are consumables made specifically for the Steam Winter Sale, with each providing a cute message or something similar. Opening them will help Steam users build toward a Knick-Knack Collector Steam badge.
Don't stress over opening a door in the Extremely Cozy Cottage every single day. All doors can be opened on the final day of the Sale, they're only inaccessible at the start and then after the event ends. One new door becomes available a day and knowing Valve this little meta event should grow sillier with each door opened.
The Steam Winter Sale starts today, December 20, and will end on January 3 at 10:00 am PST.