The Steam Summer Sale has begun! Here are the best deals so far

Credit: EvGen1us at Deviantart

Credit: EvGen1us at Deviantart

Every year, we know it's coming, and yet there's always a moment of palpable, server-crushing excitement when it arrives. And so it has, once again: The 2017 Steam Summer Sale is now underway, and runs from June 22 to July 5.

This year's sale features a "Summer Sale Stickers" quest, to earn "stickers for your Summer Sale Sticker book." Full details are here, but it sounds like they're basically Steam trading cards: Each quest, like exploring your discovery queue or viewing your Friend Activity page, will earn you a pack of three random stickers. Slap 'em in your book, and once you've got them all, craft the 2017 Summer Sale badge, which will also get you a tradeable emoticon and profile background.

Do note that, unlike Steam cards, stickers and sticker packs can only be earned through the Summer Sale quests—you can't buy them or trade them. But missed quests can be completed at any point during the sale. 

As for the deals, here are a few sweet choices to get you started:

And finally, I'd like to to share what is unquestionably my favorite new Steam sale tradition: The fan-made teaser, this one courtesy of NotAnAverageJoe. Warning: it's a bit of a Star Wars: Rogue One spoiler, so don't click if you haven't seen it yet.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.