Game Passes, Steam Sales and the Search for Better Value
From Sony raising PS5 prices for the second time in April 2026, making customers pay £90 more per model, to AAA titles like the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI costing £69.99 for the standard edition, gaming can be incredibly expensive.
The UK gaming market can be particularly pricey, with consumers spending £8.76 billion on games in 2025, a 7.4% increase from 2024 (UKIE). That’s the highest annual figure on record.
Naturally, many gamers are turning to more affordable options through promotions, game passes, and sales that soften the sting of gaming costs.
The Search For Better Gaming Value
Historically, most video games have been sold on the model that you pay the cost up front, with occasional DLC add-ons. However, online gaming has been trialling new models, such as offering a game for free but then selling skins or seasonal passes.
With gaming becoming increasingly expensive, it may be worth the industry looking at other models for inspiration. For instance, iGaming often has a range of offers, such as bingo promotions including welcome offers, free daily wins, and daily session bonuses. Many mobile games offer free play with adverts, or paid versions without, while MMOs tend towards subscription models over large upfront costs.
‘Good value’ also depends on what the gamer defines as valuable to them. For some, paying £70 for a game with a great storyline that they’ll play for months might be ideal. For others, paying for a £10 season pass for something with engaging mechanics that offers cross-platform play might seem better – even if, long term, they end up paying more.
Do Game Passes Really Save Money?
Some of the game passes available to buy are:
- PlayStation Plus (Essential, Extra or Premium Passes).
- Xbox Game Pass (Essential, Premium, or Ultimate Passes).
- Xbox’s PC Game Pass
Those game passes only really save money if gamers pay for the premium/ultimate versions. Essential game passes have a smaller library and usually don’t include the biggest titles like Call of Duty or Rainbow Six Siege. Premium passes will, but they’re more expensive.
The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs £16.99 per month, but it gives gamers access to over 400 titles. The Essential Pass is £6.99 for access to 50 titles, usually AA titles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not engaging and fun.
The same applies to PlayStation Plus game passes.
The Steam Sales Breaking Down Payment Barriers
Steam has roughly 132 to 200 million monthly active users. The platform is massive, allowing players to buy, download, and play PC games in one place at a much more affordable price. To make it even more affordable, Steam runs regular sales. Up next is the Steam Autumn Sale, giving gamers the chance to find discounts of up to 80%.
Steam isn’t necessarily cheaper for big AAA titles. The newly released FC27, for example, launched on Steam at the same price as on Xbox and PlayStation. But the regular, big sales do break down payment barriers.
Plus, they offer a lot of options. According to Steam, its most-played games are:
- Counterstrike
- Dota 2
- PUBG
- Bongo Cat
- WARDOGS
- Apex Legends
Not all of those are big names – and some of them have been around for quite some time, proving that there’s more to what’s considered valuable in a game than how much it costs to buy.
Gaming might be more expensive, but plenty of more affordable options exist. The cost depends on how far gamers are willing to go to play the games they want and on what platform they access them from.