Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation sales flood your shelves with more games to play

Memo to those giving — or getting — PlayStations, Xboxes, or even PCs this holiday weekend. Every platform and marketplace has a bunch of games on sale, so load up while you can.

• Xbox’s Countdown Sale is offering current titles up to 60% off.
• PlayStation’s Holiday sale has the same third-party games marked down by the same amounts.
• And lo and behold, Steam is listing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for $59.49, same as the other two marketplaces.

We don’t mean to be so cynical, but all three storefronts also list Elden Ring for $41.99, so the holiday sale price really seems to be on the publisher side of things. There are deeper discounts the further back you go, but if you’re buying a sports title it’s probably best if you do so for a console, as PC versions are still running second fiddle to PlayStation or Xbox in terms of features.

As far as best values go, we like Dying Light 2: Stay Human (Steam) for $29.99 and MLB The Show 22 for $8.99 (Xbox). Both launched in the late winter/early spring but they still have hundreds of hours of gameplay time inside their discounted price tags. For Steam players looking to top off their piles o’ shame, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2021) and Metro Exodus (2020) are available for the price of a good sandwich.

Not that video gamers need more titles to shelve in their libraries of regret. Of course, the good thing about online purchases is your cocktail party company can’t see the bookends and ask what you thought of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Middle-earth: Shadow of War. (both on sale through Steam). Still, you might want to have a literate opinion if either come up in conversation.