Photo: Screenshot
At the end of last week, Steam launched a big summer sale with discounts up to 75-90%. It will last until June 20, so it's not too late to get the most out of it and buy cheaper what you have long wanted, but still could not get.
Note that this is one of the two main sales of Valve's service called Steam - the second happens in the winter, usually around the winter holidays. Therefore, if there is a desire to buy something at a discount, it is better not to put it off indefinitely.
But before we get started, just a reminder - everything you buy on Steam stays on Steam. To play purchased, you must have a service account, and no one will allow you to save a copy of the "installer" to disk. In this, Steam is unfavorably different from, for example, GoG.com (which, quite by chance, is also having a big sale right now).
You also need to understand that not all discounts are equally useful - Steam does not post everything at once, but rotates discounts so that you have an incentive to go there every day. Discounts during the sale are divided into four types:
Photo: Screenshot
- General discounts of 25-50% on games that did not come out this year, 5-15% on hot new items. They are valid as long as the sale is on on Steam.
- Daily discounts (Daily Deals) for games that last 24-48 hours, they are usually 40-80% of the cost.
- "Flash Sale" (Flash Sales) - as a rule, the offer is valid for 12 hours, but the choice of games is larger and even new items may come across there, discounts on old hits can reach the same 80%.
- "Community discounts" - when Steam users themselves determine which games they want to see discounts on. In the winter this happens by voting, but in the summer the discounts are "unlocked" as players play a rather silly but fun game. If you don't want to, don't play until the opening is handled without your help.
The most important question is when to buy and when not to buy? The most important answer is don't buy a game if it's only offered as a "general discount" and doesn't appear in daily sales or flash sales. Because it will most likely appear in them sooner or later, and the discount on it will be more significant than those "pathetic 25%" (yes, this is not enough) that is offered on a general basis. Accordingly, it is necessary to buy if the game is in Flash Sales or Daily Deals - it will almost certainly not be offered with an even greater discount.
The second main answer: even if it's June 19, and the desired game has not been "lit up" in "delicious" discounts, don't buy it anyway. As a rule, on the last day of the sale, Steam re-lists all the most popular games and offers the maximum discounts on them. Patience is a virtue. Wait until the end and you will be rewarded.
The exceptions are brand new games, as well as "sets" from games or franchises. As a rule, big discounts are offered only for individual games, and not for the entire GTA series, for example. Well, hot new items very rarely come with a discount of more than 5-15%.
Finally, you can and should use modern technologies so as not to sit at your computer all day long waiting for big discounts (although in fact you just need to check Steam twice a day - after 8 am and after 8 pm Riga time). We're talking about the Steam mobile apps as well as the . The former allow you to log into Steam on the run, while the latter allows you to view the price history for each specific game, see which DLCs are missing from your collection, and so on.
And finally: do not blindly believe Steam and its sales. First, this year, some developers were caught jacking up prices right before the sale to make the discounts more beneficial for them (and disadvantageous for players). Secondly, games are still sold in "real life" stores and they can be even cheaper there than during the Steam sale. Thirdly, there are alternatives. For example, the already mentioned GoG.com, as well as everything you can find through Google.
P.S. Many advise adding the desired games to the Wish List ("Wish List") - they say, Steam itself will send a notification by mail that a big discount has appeared on the game. Unfortunately, it is impossible to rely on this mechanism during sales - it sends notifications "every other time". But at other times, for some reason, it works like clockwork ...
Hello everyone, very often some sites give out Steam game discount codes. For example Alienware , which distributes such codes very often. But what is the right way to use these codes?
1. Never activate them right away
Get discounts on all games that are possible, but do not activate, just store until the next sale of this game. Do not be afraid to delete letters with keys or not write them down, you can always find your keys and activate them at the right time.
2. Add up discounts
Well, the sale happened, we can use our coupon with the right game. Example: Shadow Warrior, which is now 75 percent off + 75 percent coupon from Alienware, and as a result, the price of the game is $ 1.25 or 37 rubles
3. How to determine what discounts will add up
You should understand that not all discounts can be added up, but there is a way to determine which ones add up and which ones cannot. To do this, just check the coupon in your inventory. If it says: "Can not be used with other discounts", then its discounts are not cumulative.
community coupons
Community Coupons are coupons given out as rewards for users participating in activities in the Steam Community. Currently they are used as rewards for crafting sets of trading cards into badges; for more on that read about .
FAQ
We"ll try to answer the most common questions here, but if you have more please post your question to the Steamworks Development Group .How do Steam users get these coupons?
Coupons are granted as part of turning a set of Steam Trading Cards into a badge. You can read about the Steam Trading Cards feature at http://steamcommunity.com/tradingcards/How do you decide which coupon a user gets?
A coupon is selected at random for a user, excluding coupons for games they already own. Right now it "s an even distribution; but we"ll be changing it select coupons that are more likely to be redeemed, based on their current redemption rates.How do we measure success? Coupon drop, trade, & redemption rate?
There is a "Coupons" link at the top of the financial site that will show you all existing coupon activity.Can coupons be stacked with other coupons or discounts?
No, the coupons cannot be stacked with other coupons, and coupons cannot be stacked with any discount or sale price.Can we add other discounts or frequency rates?
No, they are fixed in the system.Can coupons be sold in the Steam Community Marketplace?
No, coupons cannot be bought or sold by users.Can coupons be traded between users?
Yes, coupons can be traded to users (this frequently happens as a way to give a coupon to a friend).Do I have to create the assets for the coupons?
No, the coupon images and text are generated automatically.How long are the coupons valid for?
The coupons are valid for 14 days after they are initially granted. We have found this to be the best duration based on prior experiments with coupons.How do I opt-in to give out Community Coupons?
From the navigation above, select "Apps & Packages", find your game and click on the "App Admin" link, then under the "Community" tab select the "General" sub-menu. At the bottom of that page is a checkbox to opt-in to the program.How do I opt-out of the Community Coupon program once I "ve enabled it?
You can opt in or out of the program at any time. Like above, just uncheck the Community Coupon program checkbox on the admin page for your game, and publish the change.Coupons are valid until the date indicated on them. To find out the expiration date of your coupon, follow these steps:
Sign in to Steam;
Click on the "View" tab and select "Inventory";
On the page that opens, go to the "Steam" tab. There you will find your coupons.
How many coupons can be used per item purchase?
Only one coupon can be used per product.
Can I use coupons on items that are already on sale?
Coupons apply to discounted items unless otherwise noted.
What happens to coupons that have expired?
Expired coupons will be automatically removed from your inventory.
How can I find out which products my coupon applies to?
Once you select a coupon in your inventory, you'll see a "View Applicable Games" button. By clicking on it, you will open a page with products that this coupon applies to.
How to use the coupon during the purchase process?
Once you add an item to your cart, Steam will automatically apply any of your eligible coupons to it. Until you click the "Buy" button, you can save your coupon for another purchase by clicking the "Change/Remove Coupon" link in your shopping cart.
How can I find out the coupon expiration date?
You can see the coupon expiration date by opening the coupon details in your Steam Inventory.
Can I trade Steam Coupons?
Yes! You can transfer the coupon to another user using the Steam exchange system. If you'd like to learn more about trading on Steam, please see our .
Can I transfer my coupon to another Steam user?
Of course. You can transfer the coupon to another user using the Steam exchange system. To complete an exchange transaction, the user who receives the coupon does not need to send you anything in return. For more information about trading on Steam, please see our .
