{"id":53471,"date":"2013-10-20T18:02:19","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T16:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=53471"},"modified":"2025-07-02T01:05:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:05:14","slug":"how-to-get-the-best-deal-on-steam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-get-the-best-deal-on-steam\/","title":{"rendered":"How to: get the best deal on Steam"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’ve probably made a purchase\u00a0 – or several –\u00a0 through Steam<\/a>, but have you really made the most of this digital entertainment download platform?
\nIn this guide we\u2019re going to let you in on a few money-saving tips for Steam<\/strong>, and tell you how not to get ripped off<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1.- Make the most of the sales\u2026<\/h3>\n

Like any self-respecting store, Steam has a few sales each year. These normally take place in November (before Christmas)<\/strong>, and around July<\/strong>, when many students finish up the school year. Now you know, you can start saving so you can afford all the games you\u2019re interested in. Steam sales offer some real bargains, like up to 75% off games and accessories. So a game that normally goes for $65 could be yours for less than $20.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Steam sales normally include classics and new releases<\/em><\/p>\n

2. \u2026 but don\u2019t jump the gun!<\/h3>\n

There are normally 2 types of offer in the Steam sales<\/strong>: ones that last for the whole sales season, and others that are only available online for a few hours. If you\u2019re in a rush to get a particular game, go ahead and get it whenever you want. But if you don\u2019t mind waiting for a few days, be patient, because although that 50% discount might be very tempting now, the game might eventually go for even less. And vice versa: stay up-to-date with the exclusive offers, since they’re only valid for a few hours. 75% off that game which came out two months ago AND all its expansion packs? I\u2019ll have that!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s worth holding out for the daily offers.<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Check out all your options<\/h3>\n

When you buy a game, whether during the sales or not, you\u2019ll often have a range of purchase options<\/strong>: the game alone, the game with some downloadable content (DLC), the game plus extras like artbooks and soundtrack\u2026 Before making your decision it\u2019s a good idea to check the difference in price – maybe for a few bucks more it\u2019s worth your while getting the DLC version, but you might not want to pay an extra $5 for a set of artbooks that you\u2019ll never look at\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Are expansion packs always worth it?<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t get taken in by a discount<\/h3>\n

Use your head \u2013 are you really going to play this game?<\/strong> And will it definitely work on your computer? Weigh up each purchase, because although $5 doesn\u2019t seem like much, $5 here and another $15 there all add up, and soon you\u2019ll realize that you\u2019ve paid just as much as you would for a new release, when in actual fact you\u2019ll only end up playing 2 of the 8 games you\u2019ve just bought!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take the lot! But \u2026 how many will I really end up playing?<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Compare Steam prices<\/h3>\n

In general, unlike other stores, Steam\u2019s currency conversions are accurate. So if a game costs $4.99, in euro it won\u2019t be more than \u20ac3.75. But there are exceptions to this rule, and sometimes it would be cheaper to shop in a different country\u2019s store<\/strong>. The example shown below, The Sims 3 works out considerably cheaper in pounds sterling than in dollars or euro so\u2026 let\u2019s head over to the UK site!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An example of a striking difference in price depending on currency<\/em><\/p>\n

To find out the cheapest country in which to buy a game and to make the most of such an opportunity, there are a few websites which scan the various price options. These are Steam Regional Price Checker<\/a> and Steam Prices<\/a>. And don\u2019t worry \u2013 it\u2019s totally legal to buy in one currency or another.<\/p>\n

6. Humble Bundles: non-Steam games via the platform<\/h3>\n

Apart from the sales on Steam, another way of getting good games at competitive price is through Humble Bundles<\/a>.<\/strong> This charity allows you to buy game packs for however much you want to give. 6 games for less than 6 bucks? Yes, please! Although the majority of Humble Bundles we\u2019ve seen are indie games, if you don\u2019t like that genre you should know that there have also been large companies, like the now-extinct THQ, that have released packs at ridiculous prices. To get the latest news on Humble Bundles, you just have to sign up to its newsletter to receive updates.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Humble Bundle: help those who need it while getting some great games.<\/em><\/p>\n

7. Share games with your friends<\/h3>\n

It’s possible to end up with 2 copies of a Steam game<\/strong> if you owned the original game and then inadvertently purchased a pack that also contained the game. If this is the case, you\u2019ll have a code with no expiry date. Steam has no money-back guarantee for this type of situation, but that doesn\u2019t stop you swapping the code with whoever you want. So if you have two copies of the same game on Steam, speak to your friends; they might be in the same situation and you can swap codes.<\/p>\n

Finally, Steam has just released a new feature: Family Sharing<\/strong> that allows your friends and family can play your games. If you want to know more about this, take a look here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Do you have any more tips for getting the most out of Steam? If so, tell us!<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ve probably made a purchase\u00a0 – or several –\u00a0 through Steam, but have you really made the most of this digital entertainment download platform? In this guide we\u2019re going to let you in on a few money-saving tips for Steam, and tell you how not to get ripped off. 1.- Make the most of the … Continue reading “How to: get the best deal on Steam”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2040,"featured_media":53474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-53471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2040"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":331962,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53471\/revisions\/331962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53471"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=53471"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=53471"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=53471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}