For most digital gaming stores Black Friday is already well underway with sales running through the entire week of Thanksgiving, and including Cyber Monday.
Our Holiday Gift Guide should provide an excellent starting point for which games to look for among the sales from major retailers and distributors, which we’ve organized below.
Note that Amazon is notoriously impossible to poinpoint as their best deals come in the form of very limited time Lighting Deals. A good rule of thumb is to always check Amazon!
GameStop
GameStop’s Black Friday sale is notable as the only retailer currently offering a deal on the Switch Lite, which we predict will be the hottest selling console of the holiday season. The price is still the same, but you’ll get a $25 gift card as part of the purchase, which will help soften the blow when it’s time to get some games. Note that the Switch Lite deal is only good on Saturday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec 1.
You can get the same gift card deal for a regular-size Nintendo Switch (which includes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe) on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29.
From Thursday through Saturday you can find up to 50% off Switch games, 30% off board and strategy games, and enjoy a Buy 2 Get 1 Free offer for all pre-owned games.
PlayStation
Sony’s PlayStation Store Black Friday Sale features dozens of games up to 40% off, including Borderlands 3, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, and Madden NFL 20.
Many of the best games of the system have been repackaged as PlayStation Hits, and are currently available for the discounted price of $9.99 for games like God of War, The Last of Us Remastered, and Horizon Zero Dawn – Complete Edition. You can find all three games packaged with a 1TB PlayStation 4 bundle for $199 at most major retailers, though keep in mind Sony and Microsoft are launching new consoles next Holiday season.
This is also the perfect time to renew a PlayStation Plus membership for online gamers, as you can snag a 12-month subscription for 44.99 (25% off).
Switch
The Nintendo Switch has been riding a high wave of excellent first-party games, third-party support, and indie games. With new consoles coming next year from Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is once again poised to be the center of shopper attention this holiday season.
We expect the smaller, cheaper, handheld-only Switch Lite to do particularly well, as it makes the perfect gaming starter pack for kids. If you’re concerned about your kids spending too much time on the screen, consider Nintendo Labo kits as a fun combination of digital gameplay with tactile construction.
Nintendo’s eShop Black Friday sale hasn’t yet begun, but you can find discounted Switch games up to 33% off or more at most retailers, including Best Buy, Target, and GameStop.
Xbox One
Though we ultimately suggest waiting for the newly announced consoles when they launch next year, you can take advantage of deep discounts on a current-gen Xbox One, including Xbox One S bundles with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order or Gears 5 for $199, or the more powerful Xbox One X bundles for $349.
During the Black Friday sale, Xbox games are discounted up to 65% off, including Gears 5 and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Microsoft is also pushing more than ever to get Xbox users subscribed to Xbox Games Pass, which includes over 100 games that can be played on console or PC, or both with the Ultimate plan. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also includes Xbox Live Gold for online gaming. This holiday season, Ultimate members will also receive 1 month of EA Access, 3 months of Discord Nitro, and 6 months of Spotify Premium, and you can sign up for three months for all of $1.
