How to get alerts for AAA & indie game sales across all major platforms?

In the vast and ever-expanding world of video games, a steady stream of new releases and countless classics means there’s always something to play. However, keeping up with the fluctuating prices and finding the best deals for both blockbuster AAA titles and hidden indie gems across multiple platforms can feel like a full-time job. From Steam and Epic Games on PC to PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo on consoles, sales pop up constantly, making it easy to miss out on incredible savings.

The Challenge of Tracking Game Sales

The gaming landscape is highly fragmented. Each major digital storefront—Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace, Nintendo eShop—operates independently, running its own sales events, daily deals, and seasonal promotions. Adding to this are numerous authorized third-party key resellers like Humble Bundle, Fanatical, and Green Man Gaming, which offer their own discounts. Without a centralized system, manually checking every platform and store is inefficient and often leads to missed opportunities.

Utilizing Dedicated Deal Aggregators

The most effective way to track game sales across platforms is by using dedicated deal aggregation websites. These platforms scour various storefronts and present all available discounts in one place.

• IsThereAnyDeal.com: This is arguably the most comprehensive aggregator. You can create a wishlist, and it will notify you when a game drops to a desired price point on any reputable store. It also shows historical low prices, helping you determine if a current deal is truly good.
• CheapShark.com: Similar to IsThereAnyDeal, CheapShark tracks prices across many digital PC stores. It’s excellent for quick comparisons and setting price alerts.
• Humble Bundle, Fanatical, Green Man Gaming: While not aggregators in the same sense, these authorized resellers frequently run their own sales, bundles, and promotions, often offering competitive prices for PC games and sometimes console titles.

Leveraging Platform-Specific Wishlists & Notifications

Every major digital storefront offers its own wishlist and notification system. While these are platform-specific, they are essential for tracking games you specifically want on that platform.

• Steam Wishlist: Add games to your Steam Wishlist, and you’ll receive email notifications when they go on sale. You can also customize your notification preferences within Steam.
• PlayStation Store Wishlist: Similar to Steam, adding games to your PlayStation wishlist will trigger email alerts when they receive a discount.
• Xbox Store Wishlist: The Xbox Marketplace allows you to create a wishlist and get notifications for sales.
• Nintendo eShop: While the eShop doesn’t have a traditional wishlist email alert system, you can ‘follow’ games, and the Nintendo Switch Online app can send push notifications for sales. Third-party trackers are often more reliable here.
• Epic Games Store: Epic also offers a wishlist feature that sends email notifications when games you’re tracking go on sale.

Community-Driven Resources and Forums

Passionate gaming communities are often the first to spot and share great deals. Tapping into these resources can be highly effective.

• Reddit (r/GameDeals): This subreddit is a goldmine for real-time game sale announcements. Users from around the world post deals as soon as they go live, often providing context, historical data, and discussions about the game’s quality.
• Discord Servers: Many gaming communities, specific genre servers, and even some game publishers run Discord servers where deals are shared in dedicated channels. Look for reputable deal-focused servers.

Browser Extensions and Mobile Apps for Real-time Tracking

For even greater convenience, consider integrating deal-tracking directly into your browsing experience or carrying it in your pocket.

• Browser Extensions: Extensions like ‘Enhanced Steam’ (for Steam) or ones tied to deal aggregators (e.g., CheapShark browser extension) can overlay price history and current deals directly onto store pages, saving you clicks.
• Mobile Apps: Many of the aforementioned deal aggregators (like CheapShark) have mobile apps that allow you to manage wishlists, set alerts, and browse deals on the go. The official apps for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox also provide direct access to your wishlists and sales.

Subscribing to Newsletters and Email Alerts

A more passive, but still effective, method is to sign up for newsletters from the platforms and deal sites themselves. These often summarize the week’s best deals or notify you of major sales events.

• Store Newsletters: Sign up for emails from Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo to get official sale announcements.
• Deal Site Newsletters: Many aggregators and resellers (like Humble Bundle, Fanatical, IsThereAnyDeal) offer daily or weekly email summaries of their hottest deals.

Conclusion: Never Miss a Gaming Bargain Again

By combining a few of these strategies—setting up wishlists on your preferred platforms, utilizing a robust deal aggregator like IsThereAnyDeal, and keeping an eye on community-driven resources like r/GameDeals—you can build a powerful system for tracking AAA and indie game sales. This multi-faceted approach ensures you’re always aware of the best prices, allowing you to expand your game library without breaking the bank. Happy gaming, and happy saving!