The date June 2, 2025, marks one of the not-so-good days for PC gamers. This is because Steam has implemented the price increase on the video games for the PH region because of VAT (value-added tax).
I checked my wish list today, and I believe the pricing stayed the same or didn’t increase much compared to before. After digging further, I discovered from other gaming websites that the 12% VAT is charged to publishers, so we are marked safe (for now). So I suggest saving up and waiting for the upcoming Steam Sale, then buying in bulk!
Inflation happens. Period.
We need to accept the fact that inflation is there, and the government officials, regardless of who is in charge, can only do so much to prevent this from happening. In the other sector, the freelance platforms like Upwork will also get taxed… and that includes video games. Pretty ironic, isn’t it? Everything seems to be affected; even our passionate hobby doesn’t escape this too.
Alternatives to the price increase
Since we cannot prevent the inflation from happening, here are some alternatives that we can do as a workaround. Here are some suggested alternatives as a workaround for the price increase on video games.
Now, let’s say the most dreadful event has come—which is the rising price of everything, including games—here’s what we should do.
Save save save!
This approach is golden. There are actually plenty of ways to increase your savings!
Having a budget and constantly monitoring where your cash flows will help you save more. Check those subscriptions that aren’t being used so you can fork some of your cash and save it towards buying video games instead.
Adding extra work or a sideline is also helpful too. Just make sure your side hustles and business won’t conflict with your current ones.
We won’t dive much deeper here, but I believe you get the point. And always remember, “Those with the capacity and means will always have options.” So save up money so when the right time comes, such as a sale or a super good deal, you can bargain and buy in bulk as long as your budget permits!
Stay away from FOMO
If you can hold off the urge to play the game on the release day, do it. You can save big when you wait for a couple of months for the hype to go down.
An example of this is when I bought Horizon: Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok, Resident Evil 4: Remake, Final Fantasy VII: Remake/Rebirth, and Final Fantasy XVI. Yes, I had to hold off my excitement, and every time I see other gamers flex and enjoy the games, I literally drool and get jealous.
If you have a budget for it, then by all means, go buy that game! After all, we deserve to enjoy it, and some of you work hard and save hard for that game that you truly waited for.
I do have the means to buy it in cash, but I always think that I can use the difference in cash for other things like budgeting for family or investing it in other income-generating vehicles… Oh well, I must really be getting more practical and old hahaha! 😆
Finish your remaining backlogs.
If you have plenty of backlogs, then this is the time to play them while you wait for the price of your favorite games to become lower in value.
I personally have 100+ backlogs as of the moment (and it keeps increasing… Yeah…), so I’m not much affected if the price of the new games increases astronomically. For the first time, playing and reducing my backlogs has become an alternative to rising prices on video games.
Buy second-hand games.
Actually, this is a good alternative for physical games. Many gamers sell their games for a lower price when they’re done playing with them so that they can buy newer games, so you can score for a cheaper price. My favorite place to buy second-hand games is Facebook Marketplace.
Please note that there are scammers here, so make sure to review and check the buyer and the product first before transacting.
Wait and buy plenty when the Steam Sale comes.
Well, here’s another piece of good news for you: Steam Sale will always happen! So, if you’re dreading buying a game today, just save it for now and wait for the Steam Summer, Spring, or Winter Sale—they always happen.
And actually, there are times that a certain game, publisher, or developer declares that their games are on sale.
According to Steam DB, here are the dates of the upcoming major Steam Sales:
- Summer Sale 2025: 26 June—10 July, 2025
- Autumn Sale 2025: 29 September—6 October, 2025
There are also many sales in between those dates, so if you miss one, don’t worry! Just wait for the next sale.
Check on other platforms.
There are other platforms that offer sales and sometimes free games. Last week, Epic released free games, and I was able to grab it! As of writing this article, I already have 24 games that Epic gave for free!
They also give great deals, so make sure to check them out too and compare which platform offers a lower price. Here are some of the platforms you should check:
Be sure to check them frequently and compare the price in between platforms for great deals!
Subscribe to online subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, or Nintendo Switch Online.
Here’s another great alternative—PC Game Pass! This is for PC gamers or gaming handhelds running on Windows. If you’re on a Steam Deck or using a gaming handheld running Steam OS, then this option is not available for you.
PC Game Pass offers hundreds of games for free—for a price of peanuts! Yep, literally. I only pay PHP170, or less than 4 USD, per month to access their library of games. Their Day 1 release games are fantastic and very enticing—they actually released Elder Scrolls VI and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and many great titles like Sea of Stars, etc. PC Game Pass also offers EA Play, which gives you access to great titles made by EA.
PlayStation Plus is also a good alternative if your primary platform is PlayStation because they offer a pretty huge library with plenty of good titles too. They also allow us to play exclusives!
If you are into Nintendo Switch, NSO is also great because they offer retro games plus a bunch of DLCs for games like Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 3, and many more! This is also good timing because the Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been released as well!
In short, online subscription for gaming is like Netflix for video games!
In Summary
Inflation, or price increase, is something we cannot control, so it is best to just accept it and have proper expectations. I hope these alternatives help you buy more and enjoy your gaming hobby.
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