The 2022 Steam Winter Sale is live

YouTube

2022 is winding down and the bomb cyclone is spinning up, and that means the most wonderful time of the year is finally here: The Steam Winter Sale is live!

The 2022 Steam Winter Sale features deep discounts on all kinds of games, the best of which we'll be rounding up in a recommendation post that should be up soon. (The sale just started, you know. These things take time.)

But that's not the only thing going on. There will also be deals on various bits of digital goodies in the Steam Points Shop, and the traditional free festive stickers—also digital, for the record—that will be up for grabs throughout the sale.

The end of the year on Steam also signals the start of voting in the annual Steam Awa r ds. Voting is live now and will remain open until 9 am PT/12 pm ET on January 3.

Here are the 2022 nominees, spread across 11 mostly-familiar categories:

Game of the Year

Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Elden Ring
Stray
God of War
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

VR Game of the Year

Bonelab
Hitman 3
Green Hell VR
Among Us VR
Inside the Backrooms

Labor of Love

Dota 2
Project Zomboid
No Man's Sky
Deep Rock Galctic
Cyberpunk 2077

Better With Friends

Raft
Ready or Not
Monster Hunter Rise
Multiversus
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)

Outstanding Visual Style

Scorn
Bendy and the Dark Revival
Cult of the Lamb
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Most Innovative Gameplay

Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord
Teardown
Stray
Neon White
Dome Keeper

Best Game You Suck At

GTFO
Victoria 3
Total War: Warhammer 3
Elden Ring
FIFA 23

Best Soundtrack

Metal Hellsinger
Sonic Frontiers
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Persona 5 Royal
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+

Outstanding Story-Rich Game

A Plague Tale: Requiem
God of War
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
Spider-Man Remastered

Sit Back and Relax

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Power Wash Simulator
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Dorf Romantik
Slime Rancher 2

Best Game on the Go

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel
Vampire Survivors
Death Stranding Director's Cut
Brotato
Marvel Snap

The 2022 Steam Winter Sale is live now and runs until 10 am PT/1 pm ET on January 5, 2023. It's the big one, but as always, we strongly recommend that you shop around before you push the button: GOG, Epic, and Humble are having very nice holiday sales of their own, so you might as well be sure you're getting the best deal you can.

And if you saw something in the Winter Sale trailer up above that looks cool and want to know what it's all about, here's the full lowdown on every game that appeared, in order of appearance:

TOPICS

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.