Technologies

The Steam Autumn Sale 2025 Is Here: Rake In the Sweet Savings

The Steam Autumn Sale is here, and prices are falling. Check out the best deals and discounts you can snag right now.

I first discovered Steam in university — until then, I’d never had my own computer, so the allure of PC gaming proved irresistible. What started as a humble dozen games, like Doom 3 and Half-Life, blossomed into a collection of over 220 titles, thanks mainly to Steam sales (please don’t ask how many items from my library I’ve actually played). Steam is one of the most popular PC gaming platforms, selling more than 718 million total games in 2024, according to Statista. The digital PC gaming service boasts a massive catalog of over 89,000 titles.

Steam runs four major seasonal sales — winter, spring, summer and fall — plus smaller sales called «fests» in between. The next major event — the Steam Autumn Sale — has landed, running Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, 2025. There are tons of discounts on everything from blockbuster titles to indie games and older gems, so you can rake in the savings. Whether you’re trying to save a few bucks on one of the latest big-name AAA games, want to add more indie games to your digital shelf or need to fill up your Steam Deck hard drive, here’s everything you need to know about when Steam sales are and how to save money.

When are the next Steam sales?

There are four main Steam seasonal sales. The next big Steam Sale — the Steam Autumn Sale — runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, 2025. There are also smaller sales, called Fests. Typically, the Steam Winter and Summer Sales last about two weeks, whereas the Spring and Autumn Sales last for one week, give or take.

Steam Summer Sale (June 26 to July 10, 2025)
Steam Autumn Sale (Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, 2025)
Steam Winter Sale (Dec. 18, 2025 to Jan. 5, 2026)
Steam Spring Sale (was March 13 to 20, 2025)

How often are Steam sales?

Steam Sales are frequent, with at least one per month. While the big seasonal sales are quarterly — winter, fall, spring and summer — there are dozens of smaller sales or fests. Typically, these Steam discount days revolve around a particular theme, with lowered prices on titles within a certain genre, like fighting games or roleplaying games.

Here are the best Steam Autumn Sale deals and discounts

The deals are piling up, with sweet savings on everything from recent releases to oldie but goodie games. Here are the discounted titles we’d recommend picking up:

Here’s how I save money with Steam sales (and you can too)

Take advantage of your wish list

Adding games to your Steam wish list simplifies figuring out what to snag — or skip — during a sale. You can sort your wish list by discount, so finding the biggest savings is a breeze.

Add a game to your wish list whenever you see one you like the look of but don’t immediately want to play. Then, during a Steam sale, pop in, sort by discount and see which prices have plummeted the most. Or, you can arrange your wish list in order of your most wanted titles, then choose what to buy that way during one of the upcoming Steam sales.

Use SteamDB to find the largest discounts

SteamDB is an excellent source for uncovering deals. Its many filters let you sort attributes, including discount percentage, rating, price or reviews, making it a helpful Steam sales tracker. You can even narrow down a list based on platform — Windows, Linux or MacOS — and features like controller support. I’ve even used SteamDB to nab free games, like a no-cost copy of Tell Me Why.

I typically hop into SteamDB during a Steam sale to look for hefty discounts on highly rated games. It’s worth checking SteamDB even outside of seasonal sales and fests if you want to expand your Steam collection.

Shop for older titles, indie games, DLC and complete catalogs

Often, newer AAA games get heavy markdowns — but because of their usually high price tags, even the discounted cost isn’t cheap. However, you can find wallet-friendly older games, indies or downloadable content. For instance, I picked up a copy of The Sum of All Fears for just $2, which wasn’t even during a Steam sale.

Complete publisher catalogs or franchise bundles save you a ton of money. I’ve seen the Activision Collection bundle — typically $900 — for as low as $355. While over $350 might not be pocket change, the per-title breakdown is pretty cost-effective when you’re getting 53 games. Similarly, I’ve seen the Call of Duty Franchise bundle for $443, a steep drop from its usual $1,010.

You can often get DLC packs pretty cheap during Steam sales, which provide more in-game content to enjoy. On the other hand, these comprehensive bundles might lead you to overspend if you’re not actually planning on playing, say, every single Call of Duty game under the sun.

Check your other game libraries to make sure you’re not double-dipping

Although Steam is incredibly popular, it’s not the only source for digital game purchases. Check your other libraries on GOG, Epic, EA Origin and Xbox Game Pass, for instance, to ensure you’re not double-dipping. While you could buy Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam and GOG, you probably don’t need two copies.

Cross-shop deals on other platforms

With many Steam alternatives, including GOG, Epic, Origin and Fanatical, you can find sweet discounts from several outlets. While you can — and should — check those individual storefronts, IsThereAnyDeal is a comprehensive source for savings. So you might notice a great deal on Skyrim from Steam, but it might be available at an even lower price at Epic at the same time.

Set a budget

Adding a bunch of games to your cart can be tempting, especially with prices slashed by 75% or more. However, lots of cheap games can still add up. I typically set a budget — whether it’s monetary or a limit on the number of games — and stick to that.

Don’t feel compelled to buy anything

The best way to save money is by not spending it in the first place. I know, it’s tempting to load up your cart with $5 or $10 games, which is nearly as gratifying as an in-game loot grab. But only buy what you’ll play now or soon after purchasing. While there are rare instances where games get delisted on Steam, chances are if you pass up on a sweet deal, it’ll still be available during the next Steam sale.

A complete list of Steam sale dates

Outside of Steam’s seasonal sales, there are different genre-themed sales or fests. Steam fests revolve around a genre or game theme. Here are all of the Steam fests for 2025, along with examples of Steam games on sale you might find:

Next Fest: October 2025 (Oct. 13-20, 2025): Highlights of upcoming games — demos, livestreams and developer chats, oh my!
Scream Fest 2025 (Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, 2025): Just in time for spooky season, stock up on horror games, such as Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic, Lies of P, Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil Village.
Animal Fest (Nov. 10-17, 2025): Go wild and grab cheap titles like Wolf Quest, Nightingale Downs and Goat Simulator.
Sports Fest (Dec. 8-15, 2025): Score goals and great deals with discounts on games like 2K25, FC25 and WWE 2K25.
Real-Time Strategy Fest (was Jan. 20-27, 2025): Reap the rewards of discounted RTS strategy games — you might find Hearts of Iron IV, Manor Lords or DOTA 2 on sale.
Idler Fest (was Feb. 3-10, 2025): If you want to play a video game that lets you progress without too much demanding effort, an idler is a great choice. Examples of what you could find on the cheap include Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realm, Firestone and Rusty’s Retirement.
Couch Co-Op Fest (was Feb. 10-17, 2025): Couch co-op games let you play with friends in the same room. You may see games like It Takes Two, Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection for wallet-friendly prices.
Steam Next Fest February Edition (was Feb. 24 to March 10, 2025): Demos, developer chats and livestreams featuring up-and-coming games.
Visual Novel Fest (was March 3-10, 2025): Stock up your Steam library on graphic novel and anime-adjacent games without breaking the bank. You might see Persona 3 Reload, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy or Vampire Therapist at attractively low costs.
City Builder & Colony Sim Fest (was March 24-31, 2025): Build your own virtual worlds, and cop titles like Anno 1800, Ages of Empires IV or RimWorld on sale.
Sokoban Fest (was April 21-28, 2025): Pick up some puzzle games like Isles of Sea and Sky or Schein.
Wargames Fest (was April 28 to May 5, 2025): Get your fight on with slashed prices on titles that may include Six Days in Fallujah, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Europa Universalis IV.
Creature Collector Fest (was May 12-19, 2025): If you like Pokémon, you’ll love these discounts on games like Palworld, Digimon World: Next Order and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.
Zombies vs. Vampires Fest (was May 26 to June 2, 2025): Unreal deals on the undead and living dead — titles you may see on sale include Resident Evil 4, The House of the Dead Remake and Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines.
Steam Next Fest June Edition (was June 9-16, 2025): Demos, livestreams and developer chats showcasing upcoming games.
Fishing Fest (was June 16-23, 2025): No fishing license required for these great games. You could see prices sink for games like Bassmaster Fishing, Fishing Planet, Bass Pro Shops Fishing Sim World or Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos.
Automation Fest (was July 14-21, 2025): Automate all the things! Look for discounts on titles like Hydroneer, Railgrade and Voidtrain.
Racing Fest (was July 28 to Aug. 4, 2025): Be fast and furious adding games like Forza Horizon 5, Snow Runner and Sonic Racing CrossWorlds to your cart.
4X Fest (was Aug. 11-18, 2025): The Steam 4X Fest celebrates games that feature all four Xs: Expand, Exploit, Exterminate and Explore. Look for deals on player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) games, like Duke: Awakening and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X.
Third Person Shooter Fest (was Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, 2025): Reload your Steam library with third-person shooter titles, like Helldivers II, Star Wars Outlaws or Red Dead Redemption II.
Political Sim Fest (was Sept. 8-15, 2025): Bring out your inner politician with deals on games like Tropico 6 and Victoria 3.

When is the next Steam Next Fest?

There’s an upcoming Steam Next Fest running from Oct. 13 to 20, 2025. The Steam Next Fest highlights upcoming game releases, featuring developer chats, free playable game demos and livestreams. Some of the most played demos from the June 2025 Steam Next Fest included Vindictus: Defying Fate, Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive and Ferocious. For more, check out the 10 best Steam Next Fest games you need to wishlist.

Here’s what I bought on Steam recently

So what did I stock up on at a recent Steam Sale? Mass Effect Legendary Edition — three games for $2 apiece was too good a deal to skip. I also snagged Middle-earth: Shadow of War. While I picked up Shadow of Mordor at a previous Steam Sale, I’ve not yet added its sequel to my metaphorical shelf. As a big cinephile and fan of movie tie-in games (like Peter Jackson’s King Kong), I was excited to get Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine alongside Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb for $4 total.

Although I own it in EA Origin, I snagged a $1 copy of Alice: Madness Returns, because at that price, it was too juicy a discount to pass up. I grabbed Heavy Rain and Red Dead Redemption during the Steam Spring Sale. I also completed my collection of the Sherlock Holmes games by snagging Sherlock Holmes Chapter One and Sherlock Holmes The Awakened. I snagged Life is Strange: Double Exposure during the 2025 Steam Summer Sale.

During the Steam Autumn Sale 2025, I picked up Lost Records: Bloom & Rage along with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

How to get the most out of Steam once you’ve ravaged your wallet during a Steam sale

Once you’ve drained your bank account dry on games you’ll likely never play, there’s a lot more you can do with Steam, like sharing your library with friends or family, using Remote Play Together and adding non-Steam games. I suggest installing the Steam Link app on your phone, tablet or streaming device for playing your games away from your PC. You can also game on the go with the Steam Deck or another handheld gaming console like the Asus ROG Ally. Or, you can share your Steam library with up to five family members using Steam Families.

Technologies

Nintendo’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Hit. Just Ask My Kid

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has sucked my family in, and I can’t get my Switch controller back from my son.

I’d love to tell you all about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, arriving this week, and what it’s been like to play on the Nintendo Switch 2. I can mostly do that — but for most of the past five days, it hasn’t really been me playing. What started as co-playing together quickly turned into my kid taking over completely as he got hooked. And honestly, I’d say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, too many for me to keep track of. But Legends Z-A is the first that’s Switch 2-optimized, although you can play on original Switches, too. I can’t tell you what that’s like, though — my early review access limited me to playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 only at home. I was doubtful about how much a city-based game would truly feel like a must-have experience, but so far it’s already become one of my favorite Pokemon games ever.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s gotten deep into the trading card game and has played most of the recent Pokemon titles over the past year, and he says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how battles work. The quick, real-time system feels more immediate and far less sluggish than in past Pokemon games. Plus, he’s loving the story… and honestly, so am I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the «peculiar» storyline, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokemon game) and the constant sense of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: Z-A (at least from what I’ve seen in my 10-plus hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City — a Paris-like metropolis where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. is planning to rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can better coexist. The setup reminded me of the Detective Pikachu movie during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my instincts were right.

Pokemon roam in wild zones within the city, occasionally spilling into urban areas, while mysterious rogue «Mega Evolution» Pokemon have begun appearing and threatening the city’s calm. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to level up in rank from Z to A by battling various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There’s a group of friends you hang out with at a local hotel, along with research missions you have to carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, though it can feel a bit sparse at times, stretches all the way up to its rooftops, where all sorts of hidden spots are waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and one I’m still navigating.

And the city’s always changing, too. Wild zones keep multiplying, and from day to night the city’s dynamics shift. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up spots each time. It’s not as lively as I’d hoped — this isn’t Grand Theft Pokemon — but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real-life Universal Pokemon theme park could someday look like.

The Pokemon shine

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son’s telling me to do. He loves how many Pokemon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how much fun the battle moves are to pull off. I’m happy he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a looser state of mind, more able to explore and not feel locked down into systems and rulesets. Swapping Pokemon battle moves and reassigning them to buttons is easy, too.

The stronger focus on trainer battles — and the sheer variety of Pokemon capable of mega evolving — gives the game more of that classic, Pokemon-centered energy than Pokemon Legends: Arceus ever did. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon looked and behaved than to uncover new realms to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you’re spending a lot more time roaming one massive location than in any other Pokemon game I can remember. Thankfully, the visual upgrades on the Switch 2 make those Pokemon look fantastic in battle.

I do want to spend more time in Lumiose City, though, and can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse of how all Pokemon games will keep evolving. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like Z-A and Arceus have been more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, Z-A is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, it plays smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game ever has before.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.