Black Friday Video Game Deals: Free, Cheap & Co-op Picks

Black Friday is the one weekend a year when a wishlist that scared you in July suddenly looks affordable. The trick is knowing which black friday video game deals are genuinely cheap and which are just old prices wearing a sale sticker. Below is a fast, honest map: free options, the under-five-dollar steals, the premium games actually worth full discount, and the co-op picks that survive a group chat.

Last updated: June 14, 2026. Prices checked: June 2026. Sources: Steam, Epic, publisher pages and partner stores. We refresh prices and sale notes regularly.

Best picks at a glance

• Best free (with patience): rotating giveaways on Epic and our /giveaways tracker. No price beats zero.
• Best cheap (under $5 on sale): Duck Game and Stick Fight: The Game, party chaos for the cost of a coffee.
• Best premium worth the discount: Black Myth: Wukong, a showcase action RPG that rarely goes deep, so any cut matters.
• Best for 2 players: Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced, built for a duo and a loot spreadsheet.
• Best for big groups: Blackwake, naval crews shouting over cannon fire.
• Best couch / local: Duck Game, the cleanest four-player laugh on the shelf.
• Best cross-platform staying power: Black Desert, an MMO that runs sales year round.
• Best solo story: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, still the pirate game to beat.

Quick list

How to spot a real Black Friday deal

Before any category, one rule: a discount is only a deal if the price is actually low for that game. Use a price-comparison tool (that is the whole point of GamerScout) to check the historical low against the sticker. A "60% off" banner means nothing if the same game sat 55% off in October. Keys from Eneba and Kinguin often undercut Steam, while GOG wins on DRM-free and Epic wins on outright giveaways.

Best cheap picks (the under-$5 club)

This is where Black Friday earns its reputation. Tiny games, tinier prices.

• Duck Game regularly falls to a few dollars and pays it back in screaming matches. One round, one life, one duck, total carnage.
• Stick Fight: The Game is the cheapest reliable laugh on PC. Four stick figures, physics that hate everyone, done.
• Game Dev Tycoon goes cheap often and eats whole weekends. You start in a garage and end up obsessing over engine names.
• There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a short, smart puzzle box that almost never costs much. Perfect palate cleanser between bigger buys.

Best premium picks worth a discount

Some games rarely drop, so a Black Friday cut is the moment to pounce.

• Black Myth: Wukong is the headline act. It is a single-player action RPG with brutal bosses and jaw-dropping art, and it holds its price stubbornly, so even a modest sale is the green light. If you want one premium solo game this season, this is it.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III bundles a multiplayer suite and Zombies, which keeps a friend group busy long after the campaign. Watch for the editions that include the DLC season at a flat price.
• Black Desert is technically buy-once, then play forever, and its base packages go very low on sale. If an MMO that respects your wallet appeals, this is an easy yes.

Best for 2 players

Pair games that actually work as a duo, not just "technically supports two."

• Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced is the pick. It is balanced beautifully for two, the loot drip is addictive, and the remaster runs clean on modern hardware.
• Borderlands: Game of the Year is the original if you want the cheaper entry point and do not mind the older shine.

Both scale up to four, but two is the sweet spot for chatter and looting without chaos.

Best for 3-4 players

• Duck Game tops out at four and that is exactly right. Quick rounds keep everyone in the action.
• Stick Fight: The Game handles four players online or local with zero setup friction.
• Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced opens up at full squad size, where the loot economy gets genuinely silly in a good way.

Best for 5+ (big groups)

• Blackwake is the standout. Crews of players man the same ship, load cannons, and board enemies, and it gets loud fast. Player counts climb well past a handful per match.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Black Ops fill larger lobbies with traditional team modes if your group prefers guns over galleons.
• Black Desert gathers crowds in its open world, from guild content to busy hubs, so a big friend list never runs out of company.

(Rough sale-era estimates per person totals. Real numbers shift daily, so confirm on /deals before you commit.)

Best couch / local

• Duck Game is the clean winner for a sofa and four controllers. It explains itself in one round.
• Stick Fight: The Game is the runner-up, equally happy on a couch or over the internet.

If you want more local-play ideas beyond the Black sale theme, our /best/indie hub keeps a running list.

Best cross-platform

• Black Desert leads here, with versions across PC, PlayStation and Xbox and a sale calendar that never really stops.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III spans PC and consoles, handy if your group is split across systems.
• Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced is available widely, so finding a matching platform for two friends is easy.

Best solo story picks

Single-player only, so they live here and nowhere near the co-op sections.

• Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag remains the open-world pirate benchmark. Sailing, sea shanties, ship upgrades, and it goes cheap every sale.
• Black Mesa is the fan-built Half-Life remake that became the definitive way to play it.
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY is a generous fantasy RPG that swallows weekends whole. See more at /best/rpg.
• Fallout: A Post Nuclear RPG is the cheap, foundational classic for anyone curious where the series began.

Honourable / adjacent picks

These touch the theme but do not fit the core buckets, so they sit here honestly.

• Sultan's Game: a dark, single-player narrative roguelike. It fits the "Black" sale wordplay but it is a solo strategy experience, not a deal-of-the-century blockbuster. Great if you like risky choices.
• Game Dev Tycoon: a cozy management sim rather than an action headline. Included because it is one of the most reliable cheap-tier buys, not because it suits a hype-driven shopping spree.

FAQ

When do Black Friday video game deals actually start? Most stores open their sales in the week before the day itself, often the Monday or Tuesday. Steam, Epic and GOG usually run multi-day events, and key resellers like Eneba and Kinguin time their promos to match. There is rarely a reason to buy on the exact Friday.

Are Steam prices always the best on Black Friday? No. Steam is convenient, but Eneba and Kinguin often undercut it on keys, GOG can win with DRM-free versions and bonuses, and Epic occasionally hands games out for free. Always compare before buying, which is exactly what the /games catalog is for.

What is the single best cheap pick this year? For pure value, Duck Game or Stick Fight: The Game. Both drop to a few dollars, both deliver instant fun, and both shine with friends. If you want solo, There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a charming bargain.

Which premium game is most worth grabbing on sale? Black Myth: Wukong. It holds its price hard the rest of the year, so a Black Friday cut is one of the few good windows to buy it without overpaying.

Are key reseller sites safe to use? Reputable marketplaces like Eneba and Kinguin are widely used and generally fine, but read seller ratings and stick to verified listings. If a price looks impossibly low, slow down. Our /deals page only surfaces offers worth a look.

What is the best co-op deal for two people? Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced. It is tuned for a duo, the loot loop is endlessly moreish, and it goes cheap during sales.

Can I find free games instead of paying at all? Sometimes, yes. Epic and other stores rotate free titles, and our /giveaways tracker collects them in one place. Patience beats panic-buying.

Do these deals work on Steam Deck? Many do. Most titles above run well on handheld, and you can check verified status on our /steam-deck list before you buy.

The bottom line

Black Friday is a gift if you plan and a trap if you panic. Decide what you actually want, whether that is one premium solo adventure or four cheap party games, then let the prices come to you. Build your shortlist, compare every store in the /games catalog, and watch /deals so you pay the historical low instead of the headline number. That is how you win the weekend.

Alex, Scout Team