Dealmaster —
Dealmaster has deals on Mass Effect, Halo, The Last of Us, Returnal, and more.
Ars Staff
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Enlarge / A number of big-name Xbox and PlayStation games are on sale this weekend.
Ars Technica
This weekend edition of the Dealmaster is focused exclusively on video game discounts for PlayStation and Xbox owners, as both Sony and Microsoft kicked off wide-ranging sales on their respective online stores earlier this week. The former’s PlayStation Summer Sale runs through August 18—with Sony promising a second batch of discounts arriving on August 4—while the latter’s Xbox Ultimate Game Sale will last through August 5.
These are not the first sweeping sales each company has run on its digital shops this summer, but as before, the new promotions discount several hundred games across last- and current-gen consoles (plus a few PC games, in Microsoft’s case). Also like before, most of the offers advertised in each sale aren’t great deals, either because the game in question is lackluster or because the discount isn’t much lower than the street price we’ve seen in recent months.
So, as we like to do with the Dealmaster, we’ve looked through the entirety of Sony’s and Microsoft’s selections so you don’t have to, picking out the genuine deals along the way.
You can look through our full roundup below, but we’ll shout out a few highlights first. On the PlayStation side, the gorgeous PS5 remake of the all-time great action-RPG Demon’s Souls, which we called a “must-buy” for PS5 owners, is down to a joint-low of $50, as is the hardcore sci-fi roguelike Returnal, which launched in April. Both games typically retail for $70. (We’ll also note that the latter suffered from some harsh glitches and game crashes at launch, but recent patches have helped rectify those issues in the time since.)
Beyond those, there are a handful of notable PS4 discounts happening alongside Sony’s summer sale that aren’t a part of the sale itself. Those include the open-world samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima for $30, which is $10 below its usual price over the past few months, and the stealth-action zombie drama The Last of Us Part II for $20, which is a new low. Both of those made our best games of 2020 list.
Over on the Xbox side, it’s worth remembering that many of the highlights are also included in Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service, which goes for $15 a month. But if you’d rather own your copy—insofar as you can “own” a digital product—the sale includes Halo: The Master Chief Collection for $30, which matches the lowest it’s been on PC and falls about $10 lower than the co-op-friendly collection’s usual price on Xbox. The next-gen edition of the supernatural shooter Control, our 2019 game of the year, is down to a joint-low of $20, while a bundle that pairs both of the excellent 2D platformers in the Ori series is half off at $17.49.
Almost the entire Yakuza series is deeply discounted, too, while single-player gems Titanfall 2 and The Witcher 3 are down to $3 and $10, respectively. And the tactical dodgeball game Knockout City, which our review deemed “the best team-deathmatch game we’ve played in years,” is down to $13 from its standard price of $20.
There are plenty more deals on games besides those, however, including good deals on 2021 games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and Hitman 3, excellent indies like Disco Elysium, Kentucky Route Zero, and Lonely Mountains: Downhill, and much more. If you have more room on your backlog, you can check out all of our top picks below.
Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.
Xbox Ultimate Game Sale deals
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection (XB1, PC) for $19.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $30)
- Ori: The Collection (XB1, PC) for $17.49 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $35).
- Hitman 3 (XSX) for $29.99 at Microsoft (normally $50).
- Control: Ultimate Edition (XSX) for $19.99 at Microsoft (base game on Game Pass—normally $40).
- Knockout City (XB1) for $12.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
Enlarge / Some classic multiplayer mayhem in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
343 Industries
- Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (XB1) for $44.99 at Microsoft, Amazon, and Target (normally $60).
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition (XB1) for $9.99 at Microsoft (normally $25).
- Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition (XB1) for $2.99 at Microsoft (base game on Game Pass—normally $10).
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (XB1) for $23.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $35).
- Sunset Overdrive (XB1) for $4.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
Enlarge / The remastered Mass Effect: Legendary Edition collection on Xbox Series X.
BioWare / EA
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (XB1, PC) for $7.49 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- Gears Tactics (XB1) for $15.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $35).
- Rare Replay (XB1) for $7.49 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- Resident Evil 2 (XB1) for $15.99 at Microsoft (normally $20).
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (XB1, PC) for $6.59 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
Enlarge / The Resident Evil 2 remake.
- Final Fantasy VIII Remastered (XB1) for $9.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- Final Fantasy IX (XB1, PC) for $10.49 at Microsoft (normally $21).
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience (XB1) for $9.89 at Microsoft (normally $27).
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (XB1) for $14.99 at GameStop and Best Buy (discount seen at checkout, $16 at Microsoft, also on Game Pass free XSX upgrade—normally $25).
- Sonic Mania (XB1) for $9.99 at Microsoft (normally $20).
Enlarge / Yakuza: Like a Dragon converts the longtime brawler series into more of a JRPG and tells the kind wild, sprawling story you’d expect from a Yakuza game along the way.
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon (XB1) for $24.99 at Amazon and Best Buy (free XSX upgrade—normally $45).
- Yakuza 0 (XB1) for $7.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- Yakuza Kiwami (XB1) for $9.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- Yakuza Kiwami 2 (XB1) for $9.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- The Yakuza Remastered Collection (XB1) for $26.79 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $40).
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (XB1) for $12.99 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
Enlarge / Lonely Mountains: Downhill is an arcade-y but oddly serene mountain biking game.
Thunderful Publishing
- Lonely Mountains: Downhill (XB1, PC) for $13.39 at Microsoft (also on Game Pass—normally $20).
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XB1) for $3.99 at Microsoft (normally $15).
- Risk of Rain 1 + 2 Bundle (XB1) for $11.99 at Microsoft (normally $30).
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (XB1) for $29.99 at Microsoft (normally $50).
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (XSX, XB1) for $34.99 at Microsoft and Amazon (XB1-only version for $30—normally $70).
Enlarge / Demon’s Souls for PS5 is a gorgeous remake of a landmark action-RPG.
PlayStation Summer Sale deals
- Demon’s Souls (PS5) for $49.94 at Walmart, GameStop, Best Buy, and PlayStation Store (normally $65).
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5) for $29.99 at Best Buy ($35 at PS Store—normally $47).
- Hitman 3 (PS5, PS4) for $29.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $50).
- Returnal (PS5) for $49.69 at PlayStation Store (normally $70).
- The Nioh Collection (PS5) for $49.94 at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop, and Best Buy (normally $60).
Enlarge / The open-world samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima.
Sucker Punch / SIE
- Ghost of Tsushima (PS4) for $29.99 at Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy (normally $40).
- The Last of Us Part II (PS4) for $19.99 at GameStop and Best Buy (normally $30).
- Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (PS4) for $44.99 at Amazon, Target, and PlayStation Store (normally $60).
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon (PS4) for $24.99 at Walmart and Best Buy (free PS5 upgrade—normally $45).
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) for $24.59 at PlayStation Store (normally $35).
Enlarge / The epic western Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4) for $9.99 at PlayStation Store (also on PS5 PS Plus Collection—normally $15).
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) for $9.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $17).
- Bloodborne (PS4) for $9.99 at PlayStation Store (also on PS5 PS Plus Collection—normally $17).
- Persona 5 Royal (PS4) for $24.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop (Deluxe Edition for $31 at PS Store—normally $50).
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (PS4) for $24.99 at GameStop ($26 at PS Store—normally $50).
Enlarge / Hitrman 3 gives another set of intricate and darkly comedic assassination sandboxes.
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4) for $14.99 at GameStop and Best Buy (discount seen at checkout, free PS5 upgrade—normally $25).
- Final Fantasy IX (PS4) for $10.49 at PlayStation Store (normally $21).
- Hitman 2 (PS4) for $8.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $20).
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (PS4) for $11.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $20).
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (PS4) for $14.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $25).
- Disco Elysium – The Final Cut (PS4) for $23.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $40).
Enlarge / Disco Elysium is a tremendously well-written and combat-less RPG.
- Untitled Goose Game (PS4) for $9.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $20).
- Inside (PS4) for $4.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $20).
- Outer Wilds (PS4) for $14.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $25).
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS4) for $4.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $15).
- The Messenger (PS4) for $9.99 at PlayStation Store (normally $20).
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (PS5, PS4) for $34.99 at PlayStation Store (PS4-only version for $30—normally $70).