No, not a Steam-wide one. Valve’s official Steamworks event calendar has no sale for Black Friday week (Black Friday is November 27, 2026), because the Autumn Sale that used to land on Thanksgiving week has moved to early October, and this year’s ran from October 1 to 8.
What the calendar does show between now and New Year is an Auto-Battler RPG Fest from November 16 to 23 and the Winter Sale from December 17 to January 4. Individual publishers can still discount their own games during Black Friday week, so there will be deals, just not a store-wide event. Here is the full picture and how to make the most of it.
Why There Is No Steam Black Friday Sale
For years, the Steam Autumn Sale doubled as its Black Friday sale. Then Valve moved it:
| Year | Steam Autumn Sale |
|---|---|
| 2023 | November 21 to 28 |
| 2024 | November 27 to December 4 |
| 2025 | September 29 to October 6 |
| 2026 | October 1 to 8 |
The 2025 and 2026 dates come from Valve’s own Steamworks calendar. Valve has not said publicly why it moved the sale, but the effect is clear: Thanksgiving week no longer has a store-wide Steam event, and last year it did not either. In 2025, the gap between the Autumn Sale and the December 18 Winter Sale held only themed fests, and the 2026 calendar repeats that pattern.
Every Steam Sale and Fest Left in 2026
From Valve’s calendar, as of October 29, 2026:
| Event | Dates | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Battler RPG Fest | November 16 to 23 | Games where battles play out on their own while you upgrade units |
| Winter Sale | December 17 to January 4, 2027 | The next Steam-wide seasonal sale |
Valve runs four seasonal sales a year (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter), which it describes as events that “take over the Steam store experience in a big way.” Fests are smaller, built around one theme. October had two: Steam Next Fest ran from October 19 to 26 (our Steam Next Fest story covers its demos), and the Steam Scream V horror fest ran from October 26 to November 2, alongside the Halloween events in games we rounded up.
Will There Still Be Steam Deals on Black Friday
Yes, game by game. Steam lets developers and publishers schedule their own discounts outside the big sales, so many will run Black Friday promotions on their own games. What you will not get is one store-wide event where nearly everything is marked down at once.
Valve’s discounting rules shape what you will see:
- A game “cannot be discounted within 30 days of another discount.” So a horror game discounted during Scream V, which ran until November 2, generally cannot run a fresh discount of its own over Black Friday week.
- Seasonal sales are the exception. They “do not have 30-day discount cooldowns,” so a game on sale for Black Friday can still join the Winter Sale on December 17.
- New releases wait 30 days. A game cannot be discounted for 30 days after it launches, apart from an optional launch discount.
The takeaway: if a game you want is on a Black Friday discount, the Winter Sale three weeks later may match or beat it, because the cooldown does not block it.
How to Catch the Deals You Want
- Wishlist everything you are waiting on. Steam can email you when a wishlisted game goes on sale, which is the easiest way to catch a publisher’s one-off Black Friday discount.
- Use the refund-and-rebuy rule. Steam’s refund policy says Valve does “not consider it abuse to request a refund on a title that was purchased just before a sale and then immediately rebuying that title for the sale price.” The usual limits apply: within two weeks of purchase and under two hours played. Our Steam refund guide walks through it.
- Watch the homepage, not just the calendar. Valve has paused its hand-picked Daily, Midweek and Weekend Deals and is moving to a personalized deals section, as our story on the change explains, so the deals you see will increasingly depend on your wishlist and browsing.
- Hold out for December 17 for anything big. If a game is not discounted Black Friday week, the Winter Sale is the next store-wide event.
For what is launching in the meantime, our upcoming game releases calendar lists every big date through the end of the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Steam have a Black Friday sale in 2026? No store-wide one. Valve’s official calendar has no sale on Black Friday week. Individual publishers can still discount their games that week.
When was the Steam Autumn Sale in 2026? October 1 to 8, 2026, according to Valve’s Steamworks calendar. In 2025 it ran from September 29 to October 6.
When is the next big Steam sale? The Winter Sale, from December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027.
Are there any Steam sales in November 2026? Only themed fests. Steam Scream V ran until November 2, and the Auto-Battler RPG Fest runs from November 16 to 23. Neither is a store-wide sale.
Can I get a refund if a game goes on sale right after I buy it? Usually, yes. Steam’s refund policy says refunding a game bought just before a sale and rebuying it at the sale price is not considered abuse, as long as you are within two weeks of purchase and under two hours of playtime.
Why did Steam move the Autumn Sale? Valve has not explained it publicly. The calendar simply moved the sale to late September in 2025 and early October in 2026.