Steam Winter Sale 2026 Dates (Dec 17 – Jan 4) and a Developer Prep Plan
Steam Winter Sale 2026 runs December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027. What developers should prepare, whether to launch near it, and the sales and fests that follow.
By StoreCheck TeamPublished November 6, 20263 min readLive data: 802 pages
- The Steam Winter Sale 2026 runs from December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027.
- Don't launch a new full-price game during or just before a major sale.
- Released games: set the discount early in Steamworks and refresh your capsule and screenshots first.
- Coming-soon games: the sale still brings traffic; make sure your page converts it into wishlists.
Contents
The Steam Winter Sale is one of Steam's biggest traffic weeks of the year. For 2026 it runs from December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027, according to Valve's announced schedule.
| Event | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Battler RPG Fest | 2026-11-16 | 2026-11-23 |
| Steam Winter Sale | 2026-12-17 | 2027-01-04 |
| Desktop Companion Fest | 2027-01-14 | 2027-01-18 |
| Shopkeeper Fest | 2027-01-25 | 2027-02-01 |
| Sheep Fest | 2027-02-04 | 2027-02-08 |
| Couch Co-op Fest | 2027-02-08 | 2027-02-15 |
| Steam Next Fest: February 2027 | 2027-02-22 | 2027-03-01 |
| Rhythm Fest | 2027-03-08 | 2027-03-15 |
| Steam Spring Sale | 2027-03-18 | 2027-03-25 |
| Dinos vs Robots Fest | 2027-03-29 | 2027-04-05 |
| Racing Fest | 2027-04-12 | 2027-04-19 |
| Witch Fest | 2027-04-22 | 2027-04-26 |
| Fighting Fest | 2027-04-26 | 2027-05-03 |
| Real-Time Strategy Fest | 2027-05-10 | 2027-05-17 |
If your game is released
- Set your discount in Steamworks well before the deadline Valve gives. Discounts for seasonal sales are set in advance; late changes may not be possible.
- Respect the discount cooldown. Steam has rules about how soon you can discount again after a previous discount or price change.
- Refresh the page first. Sales bring lots of first-time visitors; a brighter capsule and better first screenshots convert more of them.
- Post an event or announcement for the sale so followers see it.
If your game is coming soon
Sales bring huge traffic to Steam. Some of it reaches Coming Soon pages through recommendations and tags. Make sure your page is ready to turn those visits into wishlists.
Should you launch near the sale?
Usually not. During the sale, players are shopping deep discounts and the front page is crowded. Launching just before a sale has a second problem: your launch discount window may overlap the sale. The weeks after the sale, once players return to browsing new releases, are often a better window.
Free toolLaunch Date Planner12 months of sales and fests scored week by week.→What comes next
After the Winter Sale, the next big dates are Steam Next Fest: February 2027 (February 22 – March 1) and the Steam Spring Sale (March 18–25, 2027). See the full calendar with countdowns:
Free toolSteam Sale & Fest CalendarEvery sale, Next Fest and themed fest with countdowns.→Get a free 0–100 score for your Steam page, measured the same way as the 802 pages behind this article, with the fixes ranked by impact.
Check my page freeQuestions
When is the Steam Winter Sale 2026?
December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027.
Should I launch my game during the Steam Winter Sale?
Generally no. New full-price games compete with deep discounts, and launching just before a sale can overlap your launch discount with the sale.
When is the next Steam sale after the Winter Sale?
The Steam Spring Sale runs March 18–25, 2027. Steam Next Fest: February 2027 runs February 22 – March 1, 2027.
- • Steamworks: upcoming events
- • Steamworks: discounting
- • StoreCheck data: 802 Steam store pages, measured with methodology v1