Games-giving: Steam’s Autumn sale is live

Just replace the two characters with your wallet and Gabe Newell.

Ah, Thanksgiving. A holiday of turkeys, pies, and being thankful for what you have. You know what else this holiday should embrace? Video games.

At least, that’s what Valve says it should also be known for. In other words, Steam is starting an Autumn sale on the day before Thanksgiving.

Yes, Valve is hosting another sale on its terrific digital game distributing platform called Steam. Although the occasion for this holiday coincides with Thanksgiving rather than any other holiday or event, the sale has been given the name of the “Steam Autumn Sale”. Considering that Thanksgiving is a very exclusive holiday, the name does not surprise me in the slightest.

Steam’s typical holiday sale structure is very much in place for this years Autumn sale. Every day there are daily deals which heavily discount certain games or game series. Each day of the sale the daily deals are changed, giving great incentive to check back every day of the sale. On top of those daily deals are the returning flash deals, which can last for entire half-days to a few hours, giving a great incentive to check Steam while you are sleeping, working, or doing other important tasks. In substitution of bundle sales, every independently-created game on Steam has slashed its price from 40 percent to 75 percent off, which means that you could finally buy that obscure independent game which no one has heard of or even reviewed but caught your eye because it looked kind-of pretty. (Seriously, Caster is pretty good if short.)

For those not able to access the Steam storefront, here are the current daily deals;

• XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012) – $33.49 US (33 percent off, ‘Elite Soldier Pack’ DLC is $3.34 US)
• Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 – $4.99 US (50 percent off, all DLC is 50 percent off)
• The Walking Dead – $12.49 US (50 percent off, includes all episode)
• Darksiders II – $16.99 US (66 percent off, all DLC is 66 percent off)
• Age of Empires III: Complete Collection – $9.99 US (75 percent off)
• Terraria – $3.39 US (66 percent off)

For those not familiar with the craze, Steam is a digital games distribution system made by game developer Valve. Users can purchase video games and download them from the internet using Valves Steam client software, which also includes the ability to talk on message boards, buy more video games, and download modifications for specific games. Those looking for more information can most likely find their desired information here.