Winter's Steam sales approacheth on these dates

Octemberweenmas is the most magical time of the year, filled with skeletons, imported turkeys and jolly fat men in chimneys. For us videogame-appreciating sorts, it's also the season for dark forces to align and savagely maul our wallets until there is nothing left but tattered receipts, regrets and a swelling backlog of games to play.

At least this year we've been forewarned. Through a combination of dates leaked on reddit and journalists poking developers, we now have dates for Steam's upcoming Halloween, Black Friday/Thanksgiving and Winter Holiday sales.

You should probably brace yourself (and make sure you're well stocked with funds) on the following dates:

• October 26th to November 1st - Steam Halloween Sale
• November 22nd to November 28th - Steam Black Friday Sale
• December 21st to January 4th - Steam Winter Sale

There's no rush to dive on deals this year. As with recent Steam events, discounts are active for the full length of the sale now, with no flash sales to maintain engagement, or whatever marketing people call it nowadays.

Keep in mind that many other sites such as Humble and GOG will be running their own sales either near or in parallel to Steam's, and often undercut Valve's titanic storefront. I use IsThereAnyDeal.com to help track and compare prices. Shop smart, and most of us should survive this.

Remember, if any Lord of the Rings games go on sale over Christmas, it's fair game to buy them just so to annoy friends with 'This is the winter of our discount Ent' puns.