When Is the Next Steam Sale? Every 2026 Date Listed

Updated 2026-11-04: Steam Scream V ended on November 2, so the page now leads with Auto-Battler RPG Fest and the Winter Sale. Valve's schedule, re-read on November 3, still lists both dates.

Updated 2026-10-28: Next Fest (October 19 to 26) had ended and Steam Scream V was live until November 2; the next Next Fest is February 22 to March 1, 2027.

TL;DR: Next up: Auto-Battler RPG Fest from November 16 to 23, then the Winter Sale from December 17 to January 4, 2027. Steam Scream V ended November 2. Discounts rarely deepen mid-event, so buy on day one if the price is right.

BESTPRICE: Hunting for PC game deals? Compare Steam key prices at Eneba before you buy on Steam. Compare Steam keys on Eneba →

When is the next Steam sale? (quick answer)

The Autumn Sale is over. The Winter Sale on December 17 is the next storewide sale, and until then the discounts come in themed fests: Steam Scream V covered horror at the end of October, and Auto-Battler RPG Fest is next, November 16 to 23. These dates come from Valve's official Steamworks schedule rather than a leak-and-guess cycle, so you can plan a backlog budget around them.

Steam sale calendar current status: November 4, 2026

Valve's official Steamworks event schedule lists what is left of 2026 as Auto-Battler RPG Fest from November 16 to 23, then the Winter Sale from December 17 to January 4, 2027. Steam Scream V ran from October 26 to November 2 and is no longer on that list. Valve's 2026 schedule announcement gave the Autumn Sale as October 1 to 8, and Cooking Fest ran October 12 to 19.

Next Fest is a separate demo-focused event rather than a discount sale. Valve's October 2026 Next Fest documentation (archived copy; the live page now redirects to Steamworks' documentation index) gave the run as October 19 at 10:00 AM PDT through October 26 at 10:00 AM PDT, and the February 2027 edition is listed for February 22 to March 1. The Steam Summer Sale archive is useful for comparing past discounts. For what the October edition surfaced, see our October Next Fest best demos roundup. So the practical order from today is Auto-Battler RPG Fest, then the Winter Sale.

Key takeaways

• Steam Autumn Sale 2026 ran October 1-8; it's over
• Next storewide sale: Winter Sale, December 17 to January 4, 2027 (confirmed by Valve, not leaked)
• Next discount event: Auto-Battler RPG Fest, November 16 to 23 (Steam Scream V ended November 2)
• Valve has already dated the Spring Sale 2027 (March 18-25) and Summer Sale 2027 (June 24 to July 8)
• Fests are genre events with demos and curated discounts, not storewide sales
• Daily deals and flash sales were dropped in 2015, so the day-one discount is usually the whole-sale discount
• Next Fest (October 19-26) has ended; the February edition runs February 22 to March 1, 2027

Every confirmed seasonal sale, 2026 to 2027

Valve runs four storewide seasonal sales a year, and the schedule already reaches into 2027:

Historically the Autumn Sale carried the "Black Friday" role, but in 2026 Valve is handling Black Friday separately: the company says it will direct traffic to the Special Offers hub for games running their own late-November discounts, with details to come. With the October sale gone, that hub and the Winter Sale are the year's last two big discount moments.

The Steam fest calendar, October 2026 to March 2027

Fests are themed mini-events. Each one bundles genre discounts with a wave of free demos, and for indie games they're often a bigger visibility moment than the seasonal sales, where AAA discounts dominate the front page. The summer and early autumn fests (Train Fest, PvE Survival Crafting Fest, Cooking Fest and the rest) are behind us; this is what Valve has dated through mid-March:

Survival crafting games like Valheim got their own themed week in early September: proof that Steam's fests can give a narrow genre a dedicated storefront.

The next dates to circle if you play what this site covers are Auto-Battler RPG Fest, November 16 to 23, and the Winter Sale from December 17. The first is a genre fest; the second is the next storewide discount window. For free demos of upcoming indie games, the next Next Fest is February 22 to March 1, 2027.

GODEEPER: Next Fest is the demo showcase where the autumn's breakout indies usually surface first. Tears of Metal was one of the standout co-op demos from the June edition. Tears of Metal: Co-op Hack-and-Slash Roguelike Demo →

Seasonal sale vs. fest: what actually differs

Seasonal sales discount most of the catalog at once. Publishers set their own cuts, the front page becomes a discount feed, and each one runs one to three weeks (the Winter Sale, at 19 days, is the longest). If a game is on your wishlist, this is when its price most likely drops.

Fests are narrower and shorter. A fest discounts games matching one theme, adds editorial curation, and, more usefully, ships a batch of free demos. If you're deciding what to wishlist rather than what to buy, fests (especially Next Fest in October) are worth more than the sales.

One mechanic worth knowing: prices rarely drop further mid-sale. Valve dropped daily deals and flash sales ahead of the 2015 Autumn Sale and told developers that most of their catalog "should be running its best discount for the duration of the sale". The discount you see in the first hour is usually the one on the last day, so there's no strategic reason to wait once you've decided to buy.

Which fests matter for indie players

Three stand out on the autumn calendar:

Next Fest (Oct 19 - 26, ended). No meaningful discounts, but hundreds of demos from upcoming games. The next edition is February 22 to March 1, 2027.

Steam Scream V (Oct 26 - Nov 2, ended). Valve's Halloween fest for horror games, discounted and demo'd in one place. Our Next Fest horror demos roundup is still a shortlist worth wishlisting before the Winter Sale.

Auto-Battler RPG Fest (Nov 16 - 23). Games where the battles play themselves out and your job is the upgrades. If Legionbound's synergy system is your thing, this is your week.

Cooking Fest (October 12-19) gave restaurant and cooking games like Beastro a dedicated storefront week between the Autumn Sale and Next Fest.

GODEEPER: The Summer Sale is over, but its co-op picks are a good shortlist to wishlist before the Winter Sale. Best Indie Co-op Games in the Steam Summer Sale →

How to shop the 2026 sales without overpaying

The Autumn Sale is over, but our 9 indie picks for the Steam Autumn Sale is still a fair shortlist for December: most of those games tend to come back at a similar cut. Otherwise: wishlist first, buy later. Steam emails you when a wishlisted game goes on sale, which outsources the calendar-watching entirely. Add everything you're curious about as you find it, then let the Winter Sale notification tell you when the price moves.

Check the discount's history before treating it as special. Most games repeat the same percentage across consecutive seasonal sales, so a one-third-off tag in October is usually the same cut you'll see in December. The exception is games fresh off a content update or full launch, which sometimes deepen their first post-launch discount.

And remember the sales cycle repeats: if the Winter Sale timing doesn't suit you, the Spring Sale 2027 is already dated for March 18 to 25.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the Steam Autumn Sale 2026? October 1-8, 2026, per Valve's official Steamworks schedule. It has ended; the next storewide sale is the Winter Sale on December 17.

When is the Steam Winter Sale 2026? December 17, 2026 through January 4, 2027. It's the longest sale of the year, and the Spring Sale 2027 follows on March 18 to 25.

What is the next Steam event? Auto-Battler RPG Fest, from November 16 to 23. The Winter Sale follows from December 17 to January 4, 2027. Steam Scream V ran October 26 to November 2 and has ended.

Do prices drop further during a Steam sale? Rarely. Daily deals and flash sales were dropped in 2015, and Valve asks developers to run their best discount for the whole sale.

What's the difference between a fest and a seasonal sale? Seasonal sales discount the whole store. Fests are themed genre events with curated discounts and free demos.

When was Steam Next Fest in October 2026? October 19-26, from 10am Pacific, focused on free demos of upcoming games rather than discounts. The next edition runs February 22 to March 1, 2027.

Related Reading

• Steam Next Fest October 2026: Best Demos: the 15 demos we picked for the October edition.
• Steam Autumn Sale 2026: 9 Indie Deals Worth Buying: the October sale's picks with prices checked on October 2, a fair shortlist for the Winter Sale.
• Steam Summer Sale 2026: Dates and What to Expect: a look back at the indie picks and prices from the sale that ended July 9.
• Valheim full release date and Deep North: the biggest launch that sat between the summer and autumn sales.
• Best Indie Roguelites in the Steam Summer Sale: summer picks, a reasonable wishlist base for the Winter Sale.
• Tears of Metal: Co-op Hack-and-Slash Roguelike Demo: an example of how the demo-driven Next Fest format works in practice.

References

• Valve's official 2026 sales and fests schedule (Steamworks announcement): the primary source for every date on this page
• Valve's official Upcoming Steam Events schedule: current seasonal and themed event dates
• SiliconANGLE, November 20, 2015: Valve ending daily deals and flash sales
• Steam Next Fest: October 2026 (archived copy): official demo-event dates and format
• Steam seasonal sales hub: live sale pages during each event