What are the best tools to track game deals across all platforms & get sale alerts?

Never Miss a Sale: The Ultimate Guide to Tracking Game Deals

For avid gamers, the thrill of discovering a new title is often matched only by the satisfaction of snagging it at a fantastic price. With hundreds of games released annually and digital storefronts constantly running sales, keeping track of price drops across multiple platforms can feel like a full-time job. Thankfully, a suite of powerful tools exists to simplify this process, allowing you to track prices, compare deals, and receive instant alerts when your most anticipated games go on sale.

Why Use Game Deal Trackers?

Beyond the obvious benefit of saving money, game deal trackers offer several key advantages:

• Maximize Savings: Ensure you’re always getting the historical low or the best available price.
• Discover Deals: Uncover sales you might otherwise miss across lesser-known storefronts.
• Save Time: Avoid manually checking multiple stores daily; let the tools do the work.
• Price History: See past pricing trends to determine if a current ‘deal’ is truly good or just a minor discount.
• Cross-Platform Comparison: Easily compare prices for the same game across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.

Dedicated Game Deal Websites – Your Best Bet

These platforms are designed specifically for tracking game prices and are invaluable resources for any deal hunter.

IsThereAnyDeal (ITAD)

Often considered the gold standard for PC game deals, IsThereAnyDeal aggregates prices from over 50 digital PC storefronts, including Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, Humble Store, Fanatical, and more. It offers robust features like a comprehensive price history graph for every game, a powerful wishlist system with email alerts, and the ability to filter by DRM, region, and bundle inclusions. If you play games on PC, ITAD is an absolute must-have.

CheapShark

CheapShark is another excellent aggregator focusing primarily on PC game deals, pulling data from major retailers. Its strength lies in its simplicity and effectiveness for quick price comparisons. You can set up email alerts for specific games or categories and browse trending deals. While it might not have the extensive filtering of ITAD, its straightforward interface makes it incredibly user-friendly for fast deal hunting.

GG.deals

GG.deals is a strong contender that has grown significantly, offering a comprehensive overview of both PC and console game deals. It tracks prices across PC storefronts, as well as PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop. Key features include price history, a detailed wishlist with custom alert thresholds, and the ability to distinguish between digital keys and official store purchases. Its clean interface and extensive platform coverage make it a highly recommended tool for multi-platform gamers.

Platform-Specific Wishlists & Notifications

Don’t underestimate the power of native platform features. Each major digital storefront allows you to wishlist games and often sends out notifications when those games go on sale.

• Steam Wishlist: The Steam platform offers excellent email notifications when games on your wishlist go on sale, are discounted for a special event, or are released.
• Epic Games Store Wishlist: Similar to Steam, Epic will email you when a wishlisted game receives a price drop or is offered for free.
• PlayStation Store Wishlist: Add games to your wishlist on the PS Store, and you’ll receive email updates when they go on sale.
• Xbox Games Store Wishlist: Xbox allows you to add games to your ‘Wish List’ and often notifies you via console or email when deals become available.
• Nintendo eShop Watch List: Keep an eye on your favorite Switch titles and receive alerts when prices drop.

While platform wishlists are great for first-party alerts, they don’t offer the cross-store comparison or historical data of dedicated deal sites.

Community-Driven Deal Hunting

Sometimes, the best deals are found through collective effort and the vigilance of fellow gamers.

• Reddit (r/GameDeals): This active subreddit is a goldmine for user-submitted game deals from all platforms and storefronts. Users often post unique regional deals, price errors, and bundles that might not appear on aggregators immediately. It’s an excellent place for real-time alerts and discussion.
• Discord Servers: Many gaming communities and specific deal-hunting Discord servers provide channels dedicated to game sales. These can offer instant notifications and a direct line to other savvy shoppers.

Essential Features to Look For in a Deal Tracker

When choosing your preferred tools, consider these crucial features:

• Multi-Platform Support: If you game on more than just PC, ensure the tool covers consoles too.
• Price History Graphs: Indispensable for knowing if a current sale is truly a good deal or just a typical discount.
• Customizable Sale Alerts: Email, browser push notifications, or even Discord integration for instant alerts.
• Wishlist Functionality: A robust system to track games you want.
• DRM Filtering: Important for PC gamers who may prefer specific DRMs (e.g., GOG DRM-free, Steam, Epic).
• Regional Pricing: Ensures deals are relevant to your country.

Tips for Smart Deal Tracking

1. Combine Tools: Use a primary aggregator like GG.deals or IsThereAnyDeal for broad coverage and then supplement with platform-specific wishlists for first-party exclusives.
2. Set Price Thresholds: Don’t just set an alert for ‘any sale’; specify that you only want to be notified when a game drops below a certain price (e.g., $10 or 75% off).
3. Be Patient: Most popular games go on sale multiple times a year. If you miss a deal, another one is likely around the corner.
4. Check Bundles: Keep an eye on sites like Humble Bundle or Fanatical, which often offer multiple games for a low price, sometimes including wishlisted titles.
5. Consider Free Games: Platforms like Epic Games Store and Amazon Prime Gaming frequently offer free titles; these can often be games you’ve been considering buying.

Conclusion

Tracking game deals has evolved from a tedious manual process into an efficient, automated system thanks to a wealth of dedicated websites, platform features, and active communities. By strategically utilizing tools like IsThereAnyDeal, CheapShark, GG.deals, and your console’s native wishlists, you can ensure you’re always getting the best value for your gaming dollar. Happy hunting!