2023 Steam sale dates revealed

Valve has revealed all of the dates for upcoming sales on its Steam storefront, with over a dozen sales currently planned throughout the year.

PC gaming giant Valve has revealed all of the dates for upcoming sales events on its digital games storefront Steam.

Steam is the de facto storefront for PC gaming, with the vast majority of games purchased on PC being purchased through Steam. The store was first opened in 2003, primarily to act as a launchpad for Valve’s own games, but quickly spread to include games from almost every developer and publisher in 2005.

That includes some major console publishers such as Sony, whose PlayStation games have slowly been making their way to PC through Steam. Not every game is successful, however, as games like PlayStation’s Returnal tanked on PC, despite good reviews.

Valve’s Steam Deck has been a success in other countries, but is not yet available in Australia. Picture: Valve

Many of Microsoft’s Xbox games are also available through Steam, and the store acts as the primary method of accessing games on Valve’s Steam Deck device. Australians can’t officially purchase a Steam Deck, as Valve has yet to make it available locally, although Australians probably shouldn’t buy a Steam Deck through importers.

Steam is famous for its sales, which occur multiple times throughout the year, and 2023 is no exception. The storefront will be holding fourteen sales this year, four of which are major seasonal sales, while the remaining ten will be focused on specific genres.

Valve's Steam store is the de facto storefront for PC gaming. Picture: Valve

Here are all the dates that have been announced and what the events will entail:

Note: Valve typically labels its seasonal events after Northern Hemisphere seasons.

• February 20 – 27: Mystery Fest: Mystery, Detective, and Social Deduction games
• March 16 – 23: Spring Sale: First major seasonal sale
• April 24 – May 1: Puzzle Fest: Puzzle games
• May 15 – 22: Sports Fest: Sports games
• June 19 – 26: Next Fest: Upcoming games of different genres
• June 29 – July 13: Summer Sale: Second major seasonal sale
• July 24 – 31: Stealth Fest: Stealth games
• August 7 – 14: Visual Novel Fest: Visual Novels, and Text-Based Games
• August 28 – September 4: Strategy Fest: Real-Time Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, 4X, Hex-Based Games, Tower Defense, City Builders, Social, Card, and Board Games
• September 25 – October 2: SHMUP Fest: Shoot ‘em ups, Twin-Stick Shooters, Danmaku games
• October 9 – 16: Next Fest: Upcoming games of different genres
• October 26 – November 2: Steam Scream Fest: Additional details to come, but expect lots of horror games
• November 21 – 28: Autumn Sale: Third major seasonal sale
• December 21 – January 4, 2024: Winter Sale: Final major seasonal sale

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.