Black Friday video game deals 2022: all the discounts we expect to see

Black Friday video game deals offer up an excellent opportunity to save on some of the year's biggest releases, stocking up your backlog and filling those crucial holes in your collection. Whether you're after the latest and greatest titles or some you missed along the way, you can rest assured that those prices will be falling in November. Of course, not all Black Friday video game deals are created equal. Whether a game is brand new, or it's simply a franchise that doesn't take too many discounts (we're looking at you Nintendo) there's always a slight risk that your grail isn't on sale.

We're helping you plan for all eventualities with our full guide to this year's discounts. Video games make up a huge portion of the holiday's Black Friday gaming deals, so there's going to be plenty flying around when the sales do land on November 25. We're rounding up the games we expect will see the heaviest discounts this year, starting off with all the cross-platform blockbusters and then moving onto those sweet exclusives.

We track video game sales every day, so we've watched these titles enter the market and then slowly trickle down in price (or the opposite). That means we know a good deal when we spot one, and how to make the most of a particularly lucrative sale. Stick around, though, because when those Black Friday video game deals do hit the shelves, we'll be bringing you all our favorites right here.

When will Black Friday video game deals start?

Black Friday video game deals will officially start on November 25, but it's worth noting that we're going to be seeing a lot more sales over the next few weeks. Retailers launch their holiday sales earlier and earlier every year, but we have noticed that the biggest offers usually hit the shelves from the start of Thanksgiving week.

Where will the best Black Friday video game deals be?

We'll be bringing you all the biggest Black Friday video game deals right here, but if you're keen to get a look in yourself it's worth knowing which retailers to prioritize. You'll find all our favorite stores (and the ones we'll be scouring on the big day) just below.

US:
Amazon: regular discounts and speedy shipping
Best Buy: often price-matches record lows with gift cards
CDKeys: PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC codes almost 90% off
Gamestop: regular sales on pre-owned and new titles
Microsoft: sitewide sales on games old and new
Walmart: wide selection of sometimes record breaking discounts

UK:
Amazon: often the first to hit new record low prices
CD Keys: digital codes with heavy discounts
Currys: often bundles extra services or free trials
Game: excellent prices on pre-owned titles
ShopTo: best for discounts on brand new games
The Game Collection: often has some of the best prices around
365 Games: regular discounts on games and merch

What to expect from Black Friday video game deals 2022

2022 has seen a handful of big cross-platform releases so far, but we're only really getting into the highest season. Nevertheless, if you missed out on a heavy hitter from earlier in the year, you'll likely be able to look forward to some excellent discounts in November's Black Friday video game deals.

We expect this year's biggest discounts to fall on Elden Ring, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Dying Light 2, and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. These were all released in the first half of the year and have since seen their fair share of price cuts in recent months. While Elden Ring has only ever seen around $10 / £10 off its $59.99 / £59.99 MSRP, we're confident that we could see an extra $5 or $10 if that sale price when the heat is on. Similarly, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands has held its MSRP strong in the seven months it's been on the shelves, only starting to see some serious discounts very recently. The Next Level Edition has dropped to $39.99 / £37.95 at its lowest point, leaving us optimistic for a return to this price in November.

Dying Light 2 remains a contender for some serious value as well. We've already seen that $59.99 / £59.99 MSRP kick all the way down to $29.99 / £29.99 (in October in the US and during August for the UK), so it's highly likely this $30 / £30 discount will return (and could potentially be improved upon). Similarly, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga seems to have spent its whole life on sale, though discounts aren't quite as hefty. We have seen it kick down below $40 on Nintendo Switch in the US, but PS5 and Xbox versions are more regularly found at around $44.99 / £34.99 day to day. We expect a larger discount during Black Friday video game deals here - potentially down to $34.99 / £29.99 on the day itself.

Then we get into more recent releases. A Plague Tale: Requiem, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and New Tales from the Borderlands will all be fresh on the shelves by the time Black Friday rolls around. That doesn't necessarily mean we won't see savings here. Last year's annual CoD release dropped its price considerably after releasing in November, and we expect to see the same from Modern Warfare II. We're already seeing £10 discounts on pre-orders in the UK after all. The $69.99 / £69.99 title is expected to hit $49.99 / £49.99 around Black Friday video game deals.

A Plague Tale: Requiem could be a different story. It took Innocence around three months to drop its original price tag on PS4 after release, but that was a February launch date. Hitting this close to the holiday sales may speed that process up, but we'll likely see a similar margin ($59.99 down to $49.99) - in the US at least. In the UK we've already seen £10 off Requiem pre-orders, though we don't expect to see much improvement on that existing £39.95 record low.

Black Friday PS5 game deals: what we expect

Onto the exclusives, and you can bet we'll see some solid Black Friday PS5 deals up for grabs this November. We'll be watching Horizon: Forbidden West, Ghostwire Tokyo, and The Last of Us Part 1 from 2022's class this year, and keeping a hopeful eye on the God of War: Ragnarok price as well.

Horizon has seen record low prices of $49.99 / £35 in 2022 so far (though that UK rate was part of a very brief flash sale). Considering this is one of Sony's biggest titles for the year, we wouldn't expect to see too much more shaved off that price - we're pitting this one at $45 / £35 in November. Meanwhile, Ghostwire Tokyo has a lot further to fall. We're confident we'll see some solid savings here - and that confidence comes from the fact that we've already seen them. Despite only launching in February, Ghostwire has already crash-landed at record low prices of $29 / £29 over the course of the year - a rate we hope to see return later on.

The Last of Us Part 1 might hold out a little longer, but it's a toss-up. It's a big release, but a big remake... of a remaster. And it still carries that topline $69.99 / £69.99 MSRP. Such a position on the market isn't one we've seen too many times - so while the UK has already seen a £5 discount on the September release, we wouldn't recommend guaranteeing a major saving here. We could see this dropping to $49.99 / £49.99 though.

And then there's the behemoth that is God of War: Ragnarok. Launching on November 9, we don't expect to see much movement here at all. Such a major release landing so close to Black Friday video game deals generally means we'll spot $5 / £5 off at the most.

Black Friday Xbox game deals: what we expect

While Black Friday Xbox deals can certainly serve up some strong Game Pass discounts, exclusives have been few and far between this year. Without any major blockbusters under its belt, this year's Black Friday video game deals will likely rely on older titles and subscriptions to cater to Microsoft's audience. After all, with the major first-party titles hitting Game Pass Ultimate on day one anyway, a membership will likely be the best way to go here.

Game Pass Ultimate hasn't seen as many discounts in 2022 as it generally tended to see in previous years. That may be down to the Series X's renewed reliance on the service, or the expansion into cloud streaming. Amazon has had a stock $5 discount for months now but has never reached the price lows we were once seeing on a three-month membership. Even sites like CDKeys, previously renowned for offering dirt-cheap codes, aren't giving us their all at the moment either. A $44.99 / £32.99 three-month membership may fall to $34.99 / £24.99 during the holiday sales.

Black Friday Nintendo Switch game deals: what we expect

Nintendo is renowned for keeping its new releases close to MSRP, though it's worth noting that you'll likely find a $20 / £20 discount on everything released before 2022. Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals will likely continue such a tradition that we've been seeing over the last few sale events, with launch titles like Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe even getting involved.

If you're after the latest and greatest, though, there are a few games we expect will see their launch tags cut to size. Pokemon Legends: Arcus and Nintendo Switch Sports are obvious front-runners, launching in the first part of the year and already seeing discounts of $10 / £10 so far. We would expect these $49.99 / £39.99 sale prices to hold for November, though.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land may also yield some interesting discounts. We recently saw it bundled with other games for $20 off both titles and it's taken a fairly permanent £10 discount in the UK, so there's certainly wiggle room here. $49.99 is still the absolute lowest price we've seen in the US, though, and if last year's Black Friday video game deals still track that's likely the biggest discount we'll see in 2022.

Of course, if you're after something to compliment your Steam library, take a look at the Black Friday gaming PC deals and Black Friday gaming laptop deals we expect to see this year. We're also rounding up our predictions for all the Black Friday board game deals heading our way.