If you are saving your Steam wishlist for an Autumn Sale around Thanksgiving, the November event to plan for is Black Friday instead. From Thursday, November 26, to Monday, November 30, Steam's Discounts & Events page gets Black Friday theming and extra storefront promotion, according to a Steamworks announcement posted on November 13.
Nominations for the Steam Awards, now in their 10th year, are open over the same stretch. The Steam Autumn Sale 2026 already ran from October 1 to October 8, and the next storewide sale, the Winter Sale, does not start until December 17.
That leaves one practical question for November: take a Black Friday price, or hold out three weeks for the Winter Sale? Steam's own discount rules answer most of it.
When Steam Black Friday 2026 starts and ends in US and UK time
The Black Friday window opens at 10am Pacific on Thursday, November 26, which is 1pm Eastern and 6pm in the UK. It closes at 10am Pacific on Monday, November 30, again 1pm Eastern and 6pm UK time, according to Valve's calendar of upcoming Steam events.
Both ends land at 18:00 UTC, because the US and the UK have left daylight saving time by late November. That gives Steam's Black Friday four days, covering Thanksgiving, Black Friday itself, the weekend and part of Cyber Monday.
It is a shorter window than the Epic Games Store's Black Friday sale, which runs from November 17 to December 1.
What gets discounted on Steam during Black Friday
Steam is not hosting an official Black Friday sale of its own, just as in 2025. Each studio decides whether to cut its prices, and the Discounts & Events page can show any game running a discount between November 26 and November 30, across every genre.
What you see there may not match what a friend sees. With no scheduled featuring over Black Friday, the page mixes popular and trending discounts with personalized recommendations. The Discounts & Events row on the front page also drops its hand-picked deals for ones based on the kinds of games you play.
That is partly a test. Valve stopped scheduling new Daily Deals, Midweek Deals and Weekend Deals in late September while it rebuilds the section. Curated deals that were already booked return after Black Friday, and the rebuilt section is aimed at a wider launch in early 2027.
One rule shapes which games appear. Black Friday discounts are not exempt from Steam's 30-day discount cooldown, which bars a game from being discounted within 30 days of another discount. A studio that put its game on sale for a themed event in mid-November cannot simply run a second discount for Black Friday.
When Steam Awards 2026 nominations open and how they work
Nominations for the 2026 Steam Awards open on Monday, November 23, according to Steam's official X account, which also promised new categories and new art for the 10th anniversary. No closing time has been posted yet, so nominate early rather than counting on a last-minute window.
Last year's round shows how it works. 2025 nominations stayed open until 10am Pacific on December 1. They covered 11 categories, from Game of the Year and Best Game on Steam Deck to Best Game You Suck At.
Nominating a game in at least one category earned a 2025 Steam Awards badge. It levelled up for nominating in all 11 categories, playing a game you nominated, and reviewing one.
Your nominations pick the finalists, and the vote on them runs during the Winter Sale. Hollow Knight: Silksong won Game of the Year in the last round, with winners revealed at 10am Pacific on January 3, 2026.
Why there is no Steam Autumn Sale in November anymore
Until 2024, the Autumn Sale was Steam's Thanksgiving event. That year it ran from November 27 to 10am Pacific on December 4, with Steam Awards nominations open for the whole sale, according to Steam's 2024 sale announcement.
In 2025, the sale moved to September 29 through October 6, and Black Friday theming on the Discounts & Events page filled the Thanksgiving gap. The 2026 Autumn Sale repeated that pattern, ending at 10am Pacific on October 8.
That is why a search for Steam Autumn Sale dates in November turns up nothing new. The 2027 Autumn Sale is still listed without a date on Valve's sale calendar through mid-2027.
Other Steam events in November and the Winter Sale dates
Before Black Friday, the Steam Auto-Battler RPG Fest runs from 10am Pacific on Monday, November 16, to 10am Pacific on Monday, November 23, which is 6pm UK time on both days. It collects games where the fights play out on their own and you win by upgrading your units, with sections for discounts, demos and upcoming games.
After Black Friday, the Steam Winter Sale runs from Thursday, December 17, 2026, to Monday, January 4, 2027, starting and ending at 10am Pacific, which is 1pm Eastern and 6pm UK time. It is also where Steam Awards voting takes place.
Should you buy on Steam Black Friday or wait for the Winter Sale?
The Winter Sale is a Seasonal Sale, and Seasonal Sales are exempt from the 30-day cooldown. A game discounted between November 26 and November 30 can still join the Winter Sale three weeks later, so buying over Black Friday does not cost you a second chance.
If a game on your wishlist hits a price you are happy with over Black Friday, there is little reason to wait. If it is not discounted, the cooldown may be the reason rather than a studio holding out, and December 17 is its next storewide opportunity.
Either way, spend a minute on the Steam Awards nominations while you browse. The finalists you vote on in December come straight from them.
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