A real game deal is one that matches or beats the game’s lowest-ever price. Big percentages alone don’t tell you that: “75% off!” sounds great until you learn the game sells at that price every few weeks. Here’s how to check.
Check the price history. The most useful question isn’t “how much is it off?” but “is this the lowest it’s been?” Price trackers such as IsThereAnyDeal show a game’s history across stores, and wishlist alerts on digital storefronts email you when a price drops. A historic low is the lowest price a game has ever sold for at a major store. If today’s price matches it, it’s a good time to buy.
Know the sale seasons. Digital stores run big seasonal sales several times a year. Valve publishes its Steam sale dates in advance, and the biggest events usually land in summer and around the winter holidays. If a game isn’t urgent, waiting for one of those events is the safest bet.
Watch the edition. A “Deluxe” or “Ultimate” edition at 50% off can still cost more than the standard edition at full price. Check what the extras actually are. Sometimes it’s meaningful expansions; often it’s cosmetics.
Compare against subscriptions. Check whether the game is in a subscription catalog you already pay for, such as Game Pass or PlayStation Plus. Remember that subscription games can leave the catalog later.
Physical vs. digital. Physical console copies are often discounted sooner by retailers and can be resold. On Switch 2, Nintendo prices some digital editions below boxed copies, as with the Ocarina of Time remake.
Beware of “fake” discounts. Some listings raise a price shortly before a sale, so the discount looks bigger than it is. That’s another reason price history beats the percentage: a tracker shows the real lowest price, whatever the sale banner says. Bundles can mislead too. A bundle of five games for $20 is only a deal if you’d play at least two of them.
Pre-orders are rarely discounts. Pre-order bonuses are usually small cosmetic items, and early-access perks are the real pull, as with Modern Warfare 4’s editions. Unless a game is likely to sell out, or the pre-order price is genuinely lower, buying at launch or later is usually the better value.
Our read, and the rule our Deal Radar picks follow: buy at launch only for games you’ll play right away. Everything else goes on the wishlist, and you buy when the alert says it’s at or near its historic low.
Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report
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