There is still over 48 hours left in the Steam Spring Sale of 2025 at the time of this article being published. Many have already found the next gems to add to their collection of games.
This sale is great for gamers who are just starting out, are on a tight budget, or are looking for something new to play.
But what about those who have already amassed a large game library? Most likely through a combination of Steam sales and bundles. Well, if you find yourself in this group of gamers, “Welcome!” I say this as a former subscriber to Humble Choice/Monthly for over 7.5 years!
Maybe you’ve already found more gems to add to your backlog or maybe your backlog isn’t the only thing that has been growing. You may have guilt growing inside from the situation you find yourself in. This guilt can be enough to feel like you should abstain from the Spring sale.
While I won’t be the one to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do with your money, I’m going to give you an option to still experience the rush of a new game to play at a good price.
1. Rank your wishlist
Are you guilty of using your wishlist as a watchlist? I know I was. Any game that I was remotely interested in I wishlisted to forge my master list for the next sale that came up.
Wishlists can get messy, depending on how freely you use the feature, but thankfully there are many ways to sort them to find what you’re looking for. However, there is only one sorting method that you have full autonomy over and that is “your rank” (well, technically you control the date added to wishlist but that’s beside the point).
If you take the time to rank your wishlist by the games you desire most, you’re going to have a better time looking for the games you actually want to play. Even if your wishlist has bloated to the size of your library, start by ranking the games that interest you the most currently at the top of your wishlist and go from there.
2. Set your budget
No one enjoys spending more than they intend to on a shopping trip and Steam sales are no different. Before you start looking, come up with an amount you are comfortable spending.
There isn’t any magic formula to deciding how much you should spend on a sale. I suggest you ask yourself “How much money am I comfortable spending?”
Chances are, if you’ve done your research, you have a pretty good idea on whether or not you’ll enjoy a game. You’ll also have an idea of how much bang for your buck you’ll be getting.
However, sometimes our experience don’t go as planned. If that happens, it is easier to come to terms with it if you set your limit ahead of time and don’t go over budget to begin with.
3. Ask yourself “What game do I want to play next?”
We’re in an era where we have an abundance of options of games we can play. It can easily cause you to have analysis paralysis. So, it is a good thing that there’s a simple solution to help you move games from your backlog to your completed collection.
Play one game at a time.
I could write extensively about how helpful that single tip is as it has helped me finish 12 games in just the first 2 months of 2025, without gaming anymore than I normally do.
Imagine your library was physical and you could only take one game off the shelf at a time. When one of the big Steam Sales rolls around, instead of taking one off the shelf of your library, you get to take one off a shelf from the store.
This gives you the enjoyment of getting a “new to you” game, and then playing it next in line allows you to keep your backlog from additional bloat.
DISCLAIMER
I know the feeling of passing on a game one too many sales only to find it either stops going on sale or gets delisted. I was devastated both times it happened to me (Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning).
That being said, keep an eye on games at risk of removal. There is a curator by that name I highly recommend you follow to help you avoid missing out on games before they’re gone.
How I applied this for myself this Spring sale?
I continually rank my wishlist so I know what games I have my eyes on, come time for any sale.
My top 3 are too new to go on sale (Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Spider-Man 2, and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii). Indiana Jones and the Great Circle went on sale but $56 was too expensive for my limit of $30.
Number 5 on my wishlist was my game of purchase, the Last of Us Part I at 50% off priced right at my sale limit.
I have always wanted to experience the Last of Us but I do not have a Playstation, the last one I had many years ago was the PS2. Now, I get to play through it while my wife watches. All in all, a successful sale for me.
Conclusion
Gaming is meant to be fun, it is quite a time to be a gamer where there is an abundance of games to play and sales to save money on.
That being said, you backlog isn’t a chore to slave away at, but rather a selection of wine to be indulged and enjoyed, one at a time.