Black Friday 2026 PC Game Deals: Wait For or Skip

By Greedy Gary · Updated October 2026

Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving (November 26). Steam has not announced its Black Friday dates yet, so this guide uses what Steam, Epic and GOG actually did in past years to tell you what to wait for and what to skip.

My short answer: do not buy older big games at full price in November, set a target price for each wishlist item, and treat anything that already hit a deep low in the Steam Autumn Sale (October 1-8) as a game that will probably get there again.

The Scroll in Brief

Black Friday is November 27, 2026. Steam lists a Black Friday event for November with exact dates still to be announced (as of October 2026).
Steam held its first Black Friday event in 2025, running November 24 to December 1, after moving its Autumn Sale to October. The 2026 Autumn Sale already happened (October 1-8).
Epic has run Black Friday freebies and sales for years, but its checkout coupon is not guaranteed: it was a 33% coupon in 2023 and did not return in 2024.
Older AAA games, indies and bundles are the best waits. New releases and brand-new Early Access games are the usual skips.
The Steam Winter Sale (December 17 to January 4) is only three weeks later, so you rarely need to rush.

What we know about Black Friday 2026 so far

Nothing is locked in for the stores themselves except the calendar. Black Friday lands on November 27, and Steam’s published schedule has a Black Friday sale in November with dates marked as to be announced, sitting between the Auto-Battler RPG Fest (November 16-23) and the Winter Sale (December 17 to January 4, 2027).

Epic and GOG have not published 2026 Black Friday dates that I could find. One deal-tracker page says Epic’s sale “begins around the end of November” and that no 2026 coupon is confirmed. Treat every date below as a pattern, not a promise.

What past years show, store by store

Store	What happened in past years	2026 status (Oct 2026)
Steam	2022 and 2023: Autumn Sale started November 22 and 21. 2024: Autumn Sale ran November 27 to December 4. 2025: Autumn Sale moved to September 29 to October 6, and Steam ran special Black Friday offers November 24 to December 1.	Autumn Sale already ran October 1-8. Black Friday event listed for November, dates TBA.
Epic Games Store	2023: 33% off at checkout on purchases of $14.99 or more, plus a boosted Epic Rewards rate. 2024: the coupon did not return. 2025: a free game, Universe For Sale, ran November 27 to December 4.	No dates or coupon confirmed. Weekly free games continue.
GOG	2025: a Black Friday-to-Cyber Monday sale running until December 3, with hundreds of DRM-free games discounted roughly 30% to 90%.	No dates confirmed.

The big shift is on Steam. For years the Autumn Sale was the Thanksgiving-week sale. Valve moved it to the start of October in 2025 and replaced it with Black Friday offers on its Discounts and Events page, so the November sale is now a different event from the one we all remember.

What to wait for

Older AAA games you have been eyeing

This is where Black Friday is strongest. In the Autumn Sale, KeenGamer’s US price roundup showed Red Dead Redemption 2 at $14.99 (75% off), Cyberpunk 2077 at $17.99 (70% off) and Hogwarts Legacy at $5.99 (90% off). Those are sale prices from October 1 and may have ended, but they give you a floor to compare against.

My rule: if a game already hit a price you like in October, set that as your target. If November does not beat or match it, wait for Winter. Best for: anyone with a backlog and patience.

Older Early Access graduates and indies

The same roundup listed Hades at $6.24 (75% off) and Terraria at $4.99 (50% off). Indies tend to reach deep cuts across several sales, and they are rarely worth full price on a deadline. Best for: cheap fillers and co-op nights.

Bundles and complete editions

Bundles that combine a base game with DLC often get their own deeper cut than the parts. Check the price of the base game plus the DLC separately before you buy. Best for: strategy and sim games with a pile of expansions.

GOG for older and DRM-free games

GOG’s 2025 sale included Cyberpunk 2077 at 65% off and Disco Elysium at 75% off, plus several games at 90% off. GOG sells DRM-free copies, so it is worth a price check against Steam. Best for: people who want to own a copy outside a launcher.

What to skip

Games that came out in the last few months. In the Autumn Sale, KeenGamer listed Resident Evil Requiem at only 30% off ($48.99). That is a typical first discount for a fresh release.
Fake “was” prices. A big red percentage means nothing if the game was already cheap last month. Check the price history before you buy.
Pre-orders and season passes. Epic’s 2023 coupon excluded pre-orders and add-ons such as DLC and season passes, and stores often keep the best cuts for finished products.
Anything you will not play before Winter. A cheap game you do not touch is not a saving.

A simple plan for Black Friday week

Now to mid-November: wishlist games on Steam, Epic and GOG, and note the lowest price you would pay for each.
November 16-23: Steam’s Auto-Battler RPG Fest runs, which is a small themed sale and a good place to check prices on strategy and RPG picks.
Black Friday week: check Steam’s Discounts and Events page, Epic’s sale page, and GOG for the same games. Buy only what meets your target.
Late November: remember Epic’s weekly free game, which in 2025 was a Black Friday freebie from November 27 to December 4.
Still unsure? The Winter Sale begins December 17, so anything on the fence can wait three more weeks.

Gary’s Take

Black Friday is good for PC players who shop with a list and bad for people who shop by mood. I would not buy a new release for a 30% cut, and I would not rush to buy a classic that has been under $15 for years.

If I had to pick three to wait for, it would be big older single-player games, complete editions with DLC, and anything that already hit a low in October. Everything else can wait for Winter. This is opinion based on past patterns, not a prediction of what Steam will list.

Keep digging: how to tell if a game deal is good, the Steam Winter Sale 2026 guide and this week’s free games.

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Author

Greedy Gary

Greedy Gary runs the Game Deals board and takes fake discounts personally. He is one of the LoreGoblins cartoon characters, not a real person: his posts are researched and written with AI under the rules our editor, Mario, sets, and every price is checked against the store linked in the post.

Black Friday 2026 PC Game Deals: What to Wait For and Skip

What we know about Black Friday 2026 so far

What past years show, store by store