NEWS
by Ben Petchey
Winter and Autumn sales will have no flash or daily sales according to leak
The dates for upcoming Steam sales have leaked and it seems there will be no flash or daily sales this time around. Shacknews reports that the leak came from a Steamworks developer group in a message about holiday sale dates.
The Autumn sale will apparently start from 6pm GMT/ 10am PT on November 25th till 6pm GMT / 10am PT on December 1st. The Winter sale will run three weeks later on December 22nd at 6pm GMT/ 10am PT and will conclude on January 4th at 6pm GMT/ 10am PT.
“In past sale events, we’ve asked for two discounts—a duration discount that runs for the length of the sale, and a feature discount that runs in the event that a game is featured on the front page,” the statement reads. “This year, to optimize the sale for customers and to allow us to feature and recommend your products in more ways to more customers, we’re asking for just one discount, to run the length of the sale.”
Scrapping the flash and daily sales means that you no longer have to check the Steam front page everyday so that you don't miss a deal. It also means that Steam users can get the best possible deals straight off the bat without the possibility of them appearing for cheaper later on.
This change is likely to have been made due to the recent introduction of refunds on Steam. Previously, when you bought a game in a flash sale in the past, you were stuck with it; even if it was on sale for cheaper later on. With refunds how easily accessible to Steam users, this change has likely been introduced to stop the refund system becoming overwhelmed during the sales.