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Dealmaster —

The weekend’s best deals: Epic Games Store holiday sale, Apple devices, and more

Dealmaster also includes good noise-canceling headphones and Philips Hue lights.

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A collage of electronic consumer goods against a white background.
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Ars Technica

It's time for another Dealmaster. Leading our latest roundup of the best tech deals we can find is the Epic Games Store's annual holiday sale, which kicked off earlier this week and runs until January 6.

Though sales at PC gaming storefronts are fairly common, this one is notable for bringing back a recurring coupon promo that takes $10 off any eligible game priced at $14.99 or more on Epic's store. You have to claim it first, but the $10 coupon applies on top of any existing discounts—e.g., a game already on sale for $15 will only cost $5—and automatically renews after each transaction you complete.

Also of note: Epic finally added a shopping cart to its 3-year-old storefront earlier this month, so you can now check out with multiple games at once. If you do, the $10 coupon will apply to each eligible game in your cart individually, not as a one-time discount. If you pick up five games priced at $15 or more, for instance, you'll get $50 shaved off the total cost.

Further Reading

Ars Technica’s best games of 2020
All of this brings several recommended games down to their best prices to date. The roguelike Hades, our 2020 game of the year, is down to a new low of $6 after applying the coupon, while the RPG Disco Elysium, the runner-up on our 2019 list, is down to a new low of $8. The PC ports of Death Stranding and Horizon Zero Dawn are at new lows of $11 and $15, respectively, while critically acclaimed 2021 games such as Death's Door, Hitman 3, Loop Hero, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Inscryption, and The Forgotten City are also as cheap as we've seen them. We have a more complete list of deals we particularly like from the sale below. If you're a PC player seeking to catch up on some games over the holidays, these are a good value. If you'd rather shop elsewhere, though, note that Steam plans to kick off its own winter sale on December 22.

If you're already drowning in things to play, meanwhile, our weekend deals roundup has plenty of other options on offer, including strong price cuts on various Apple Watch and AirPods models, ongoing Black Friday prices on 4K media streamers and noise-canceling headphones we recommend, a couple good deals on Philips Hue lights, and more. You can see our full curated list below.

Table of Contents

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Featured deals of the day

We named the 2D platformer <em>Celeste </em>our <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/12/ars-technicas-best-games-of-2018/">game of the year in 2018</a>.
Enlarge / We named the 2D platformer Celeste our game of the year in 2018.

Video game deals

The charming roguelike <em>Hades</em>, meanwhile, topped our<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/12/ars-technic"> game of the year list in 2020</a>.
Enlarge / The charming roguelike Hades, meanwhile, topped our game of the year list in 2020.
Supergiant Games
One of our favorites of 2021, <em>Loop Hero</em> is a self-looping RPG.
Enlarge / One of our favorites of 2021, Loop Hero is a self-looping RPG.
<i>Tetris Effect</i> is a gorgeous take on the classic puzzler.
Enlarge / Tetris Effect is a gorgeous take on the classic puzzler.
Another 2021 favorite of ours, the third-person action-adventure game <em>Kena: Bridge of Spirits</em>.
Enlarge / Another 2021 favorite of ours, the third-person action-adventure game Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
Flipping past a Technicolor dinosaur in a shiny, blue sports car: that's the <em>Cruis'n Blast</em> lifestyle at work.
Enlarge / Flipping past a Technicolor dinosaur in a shiny, blue sports car: that's the Cruis'n Blast lifestyle at work.
Raw Thrills / Nintendo
<em>Mass Effect Legendary Edition</em> bundles the (mostly) beloved trilogy of action-RPGs in one package.
Enlarge / Mass Effect Legendary Edition bundles the (mostly) beloved trilogy of action-RPGs in one package.
BioWare / EA
Top to bottom: Apple's second-gen AirPods, third-gen AirPods, and AirPods Pro.
Enlarge / Top to bottom: Apple's second-gen AirPods, third-gen AirPods, and AirPods Pro.
Jeff Dunn

Electronics deals

The Apple Watch Series 7.
Enlarge / The Apple Watch Series 7.
Corey Gaskin
Bose's QuietComfort 45 wireless noise-canceling headphones are a good choice if you value comfort over anything else.
Enlarge / Bose's QuietComfort 45 wireless noise-canceling headphones are a good choice if you value comfort over anything else.
Jeff Dunn
Google's Pixel 5a is an excellent value for Android users.
Enlarge / Google's Pixel 5a is an excellent value for Android users.
Ron Amadeo
Fitbit's Sense smartwatch.
Enlarge / Fitbit's Sense smartwatch.
Corey Gaskin / Ars Technica

Laptop and desktop PC deals

The new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max promises faster speeds than the base Fire TV Stick 4K, as well as Wi-Fi 6 support.
Enlarge / The new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max promises faster speeds than the base Fire TV Stick 4K, as well as Wi-Fi 6 support.
Amazon

TV, media streamer, and home entertainment deals

The Razer Huntsman Mini is a worthy choice for those in search of an ultra-compact mechanical gaming keyboard.
Enlarge / The Razer Huntsman Mini is a worthy choice for those in search of an ultra-compact mechanical gaming keyboard.
Razer

Gaming deals

The first-generation (left) and second-generation (right) Apple Pencils.
Enlarge / The first-generation (left) and second-generation (right) Apple Pencils.
Samuel Axon

Accessories and miscellaneous deals

Channel Ars Technica

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