Finding the cheapest place to buy PC games is less about one magic store and more about knowing which store wins for which type of purchase. New release, old favourite, regional key, free giveaway: each has a different best home. This guide front-loads the answer, then shows 16 real games and exactly where the cheap entry point lives.
Last updated: June 7, 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 route: Epic Games Store weekly freebies and our /giveaways tracker (0 dollars, no catch).
- Best cheap sim: Mad Games Tycoon 2, a deep studio-builder that goes very low on sale.
- Best cheap horror: Creepy Tale: Some Other Place, hand-drawn dread for the price of a coffee.
- Best premium action: No Place for Bravery, a brutal pixel action-RPG worth full price.
- Best for 2 players: I Hate This Place, online co-op survival horror.
- Best for small groups: October Night Games, an occult party RPG for 1-4.
- Best couch/local: [Carnival Games \[VR\]](/games/carnival-games-vr), pass-the-headset minigames.
- Best cross-platform value: buy the PC version. It is almost always the cheapest entry for multi-platform titles.
Quick list
| Game | Best for | Players | Platforms | Entry cost | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mad Games Tycoon 2 | Management sim | 1 | PC | ~$10 sale | Run a studio from garage to giant |
| REPLACED | Cinematic action | 1 | PC, Xbox | Wishlist/launch | Gorgeous 2.5D pixel platformer |
| Creepy Tale: Some Other Place | Cheap horror | 1 | PC, Switch | ~$8 | Short, eerie point-and-click |
| No Place for Bravery | Action-RPG | 1 | PC, Switch | ~$20 | Soulslike combat, big story |
| Afterplace | Open adventure | 1 | PC, mobile | ~$8 | Zelda-like with hidden depth |
| A Place for the Unwilling | Narrative mystery | 1 | PC | ~$15 | A city that lives without you |
| I Hate This Place | Co-op horror | 1-2 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox | ~$15 | Comic-book survival dread |
| October Night Games | Group oddity | 1-4 | PC | ~$10 | Occult board-game RPG |
| [Carnival Games \[VR\]](/games/carnival-games-vr) | VR party | 1-4 | PC VR | ~$20 | Bite-size minigame fair |
| Gamestonk Simulator: Gone Rogue | Silly sim | 1 | PC | ~$5 | Meme-stock chaos |
| DYSPLACED | Sci-fi adventure | 1 | PC | ~$13 | Moody exploration |
| Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King | Retro arcade | 1 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | ~$15 | Restored 90s classics |
| Mind Games | Brain teaser | 1 | PC | ~$5 | Quick puzzle collection |
| Shard Games | Budget curio | 1 | PC | ~$5 | Cheap genre experiment |
| Games&Girls | Visual novel | 1 | PC | ~$5 | Story-led curio |
| Placement | Minimalist puzzle | 1 | PC | ~$4 | Calm tile-laying |
Entry costs are typical sale or low points. Live prices change daily, so check the full catalog before you buy.
Where to buy PC games cheapest (store by store)
This is the part that actually answers the keyword. Each store has a job it does best.
Steam The default, and rightly so. Steam rarely has the lowest sticker price on a brand-new game, but its seasonal sales (Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring) cut deep on indies and back catalogue, often 50-80%. You also get refunds, cloud saves, Workshop mods and the biggest library. Track the next big event on our Steam sale page.
Epic Games Store Epic competes on two things: free games every week and frequent storewide coupons that stack on top of sale prices. For new releases, that coupon can make Epic the genuine cheapest official storefront. The catch is a smaller feature set and no Workshop.
GOG DRM-free, so the game is yours to keep and back up forever. Prices match Steam closely, sales are generous, and the catalogue leans into classics and curated indies. If a game is on GOG and you value ownership, buy it here.
Eneba and Kinguin (key marketplaces) This is where the headline savings live for big releases. Third-party sellers list activation keys, often regional, that undercut official stores by a wide margin. The trade-offs are real: check seller ratings, watch for region locks, and budget for the small buyer-protection fee. Used carefully, they are the cheapest place to buy PC games at launch.
Fanatical and Humble Both shine for bundles, where a pile of indies costs a few dollars, and for charity-friendly buys. Great for filling a backlog fast.
Cheap by genre (under $15 most of the time)
Sim and management Builders are the kings of value because they last hundreds of hours. Mad Games Tycoon 2 is the standout: you start in a garage and grow a studio empire, and it regularly drops near $10. For something lighter and funnier, Gamestonk Simulator: Gone Rogue turns meme-stock mania into a quick, chaotic sim for a fiver.
Horror Creepy Tale: Some Other Place does atmosphere on a budget, with storybook art that turns nasty in the best way. It is short, which means it rarely costs much. Want more, browse our horror hub for the full creep list.
Action and platforming No Place for Bravery is the one I push hardest here: tough, deliberate combat wrapped around a heavy story, and worth its price even before a sale. Keep an eye on REPLACED too, a stunning cinematic platformer that is all about the look and feel. More in the action hub.
Adventure and narrative Afterplace is a clever open-world adventure that hides a much bigger game inside a tiny one. A Place for the Unwilling is a slow-burn mystery set in a city that carries on with or without you, and DYSPLACED brings moody sci-fi exploration. None of these will break $15 on sale.
Puzzle and casual For short, cheap brain food, Mind Games and Placement both deliver calm, low-cost sessions you can dip into. Perfect picks for a Steam Deck on the couch.
Cheap for 2 players
Keeping this honest: only true two-player titles go here. I Hate This Place is online co-op survival horror with a sharp comic-book style, built for you and one friend (1-2). It is the cleanest cheap co-op pick on this list and works across PC, PlayStation and Xbox, so grab the PC version for the lowest entry.
Cheap for small groups (3-4)
October Night Games is the oddball gem for a group of 1-4: an occult, board-game-flavoured RPG full of rituals and rivalry. It is cheap, weird, and exactly the kind of thing that wins a games night.
Couch and local play
[Carnival Games \[VR\]](/games/carnival-games-vr) is the pass-the-headset choice (1-4 taking turns), a fairground of quick minigames that newcomers pick up instantly. Outside VR, October Night Games handles same-room sessions well thanks to its hotseat structure.
Best cross-platform value
Here is the quiet truth about saving money across systems: the PC version is usually the cheapest entry point. Multi-platform titles like I Hate This Place (PC, PlayStation, Xbox) and Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King (PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) tend to discount hardest on PC storefronts and key marketplaces. If you own multiple machines and just want the lowest price, start with the PC listing and compare from there.
Honourable / adjacent picks
These are good buys that only loosely fit a strict cheap-and-social brief, so they sit here rather than in the core sections.
- Games&Girls: a single-player visual novel curio. Cheap and story-led, but solo only, so it is not a group pick.
- Shard Games: a budget genre experiment worth a look when it is a few dollars, listed here because it is more an oddity than an essential.
- A Place for the Unwilling: brilliant atmosphere, but its slow narrative pace makes it a mood buy rather than a crowd-pleaser.
FAQ
What is genuinely the cheapest place to buy PC games? For brand-new releases, key marketplaces like Eneba and Kinguin usually post the lowest prices. For indies and older titles, a Steam, GOG or Fanatical sale wins. There is no single answer, which is why comparing on our catalog beats loyalty to one store.
Are key marketplaces like Eneba and Kinguin safe? They are legitimate marketplaces with buyer protection, but you are buying from third-party sellers. Stick to high-rated sellers, check the region of the key, and use the platform's protection option. Done carefully, the savings are real.
How do I get PC games for free legally? Epic Games Store gives away full titles every week, and Steam, GOG and Prime run regular freebies too. We collect the live ones on our giveaways page so you never miss a window.
Is it cheaper to wait for a Steam sale? Usually yes for indies and back catalogue, where discounts hit 50-80%. New AAA games discount slower on Steam, so compare against key marketplaces. Our Steam sale tracker shows when the next big event lands.
Does buying cheaper keys mean worse quality or no updates? No. A legitimate key activates the same full game on the same platform, with the same patches and online features. The only differences are the lack of bundled storefront perks and the need to vet the seller.
What is the best store for keeping games forever? GOG, because its catalogue is DRM-free, so you can download installers and back them up offline. If long-term ownership matters more than the absolute lowest price, buy there.
Are the cheap games on this list any good or just filler? Mixed, and I have flagged it honestly. Picks like Mad Games Tycoon 2, No Place for Bravery and I Hate This Place earn their spots on quality. The curios sit under honourable picks so you know what you are getting.
Can I play these cheap PC games on Steam Deck? Many run well on Deck, especially the puzzle, sim and 2D action titles here. Check verified status on our Steam Deck page before you buy.
The bottom line
The cheapest place to buy PC games is whichever store wins for that specific purchase, and the only way to know is to compare. Use official stores for safety and ownership, key marketplaces for launch-day savings, and free channels when they appear. Start at our deals page for today's discounts, browse the full catalog to price-check any title, and never pay full price on impulse again.
Alex, Scout Team