It’s that time of year again – another sale on Valve’s digital giant Steam, a flurry of emails telling you things on your wishlist are now on sale, as the Steam Winter Sale 2021 is now live.

Depending on what hemisphere you live in, the Steam Winter Sale 2021 generally always goes live right after the “official” start of winter, i.e. here in the North American region. Countless deals are now live, new seasonal items are in the Steam Points Shop, and voting has opened for the 2021 Steam Awards.

There’s the glut of discounts for games ranging from the excellent flagship RPG Tales of Arise discounted 30% down to $42, and even more obscure yet classic city-builder games like Knights & Merchants, which is 60% off and only $2.79.

Valve is also offering a free gift for all Steam users in the form of a random sticker that they’ll give out to users every other day – I got an adorable animate squirrel nibbling on an acorn. It’s a shame that squirrels are actually very annoying jerks in real life because tourists love to feed them junk.

As for the Steam Awards, there’s a multitude of categories ranging from the main Game of the Year down to Best Game You Suck At, Outstanding Visual Style, and even Sit Back and Relax.

It’s interesting that games like Cyberpunk 2077 and New World are both up for GOTY, though, as both our own reviews and widespread opinion suggest they’re both not GOTY-worthy. Even Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards hadn’t nominated either of those games for GOTY.

It’s hard to resist the single digit game prices and sales, which I think is what the majority of Steam users look for (including myself). Did you pick any games up on sale? Sound off in the comments below!

The is Niche Deals. In this column, we regularly cover new and upcoming deals, discounts, and more for video games. Let us know if there’s a deal we should cover!