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The 2025 Steam Autumn Sale is over. It ran from September 29 through October 6 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, and the prices below are the historical USD prices reported during that event—not current offers. Valve announced deals across the store in its September 29 sale notice.
These 20 picks cover solo adventures, strategy, shooters, simulations and co-op. The selection favors variety and approachable entry points; it is not a ranked list. Games reported at exactly $5 are excluded to keep the “under $5” threshold strict.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $54.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Visa Virtual eGift Card | $28.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $105.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
$500 Apple Gift Card—Email Delivery | $500.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Visa Virtual eGift Card | $206.95 | Buy on Amazon |
What were the best Steam games under $5 in the 2025 Autumn Sale?
Each amount below is the reported sale price in US dollars during the 2025 event. Prices and availability may differ now, and no current discount or Steam Deck compatibility is implied.
| Game | Reported 2025 price | Best fit | Play style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portal 2 | $1.99 | First-class environmental puzzles and comedy | Solo campaign; co-op campaign |
| Left 4 Dead 2 | $1.99 | Fast zombie-shooter sessions with friends | Co-op action |
| Elite Dangerous | $1.99 | A sprawling space simulation | Open-ended piloting |
| Payday 2 | $2.99 | Planning and executing heists | Co-op action |
| Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition | $2.99 | A reflective, story-focused management adventure | Primarily solo |
| Two Point Campus | $2.99 | Lighthearted campus management | Solo simulation |
| Batman: Arkham Knight | $3.99 | Open-world superhero action | Solo |
| Control Ultimate Edition | $3.99 | Supernatural action-adventure and strange worldbuilding | Solo |
| Doom Eternal | $3.99 | Relentless, fast-paced first-person combat | Solo campaign |
| Monster Train | $3.00 | Deck-building strategy with replayable runs | Solo |
| RoboCop: Rogue City | $4.99 | Licensed first-person action | Solo |
| Terraria | $4.99 | Crafting, exploration and building in a 2D world | Solo or multiplayer |
| Euro Truck Simulator 2 | $4.99 | Unhurried driving and logistics | Solo simulation |
| Middle-earth: Shadow of War | $4.99 | Open-world action RPG combat | Solo |
| PlateUp! | $4.99 | Cooking, restaurant management and hectic coordination | Co-op or solo |
| Far Cry 4 | $4.49 | Open-world shooter action | Solo campaign |
| SOMA | $2.99 | Psychological horror and science-fiction atmosphere | Solo |
| DOOM (2016) | $3.99 | A more direct, high-speed first-person shooter | Solo campaign |
| Darkest Dungeon | $1.99 | Demanding turn-based tactical roguelike runs | Solo |
| XCOM 2 | $2.99 | Turn-based squad tactics and strategic planning | Solo |
Which cheap Steam games are worth choosing?
For a short, focused solo game
Portal 2 is the clearest low-cost starting point if you want a puzzle campaign rather than a long open world. SOMA is a different kind of focused experience: choose it for unsettling science-fiction horror, not action-heavy combat. Control Ultimate Edition is the better fit if supernatural action and exploration are more appealing.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
For repeatable strategy
Monster Train, Darkest Dungeon and XCOM 2 all reward tactical decisions, but they ask for different moods. Monster Train centers on deck-building runs; Darkest Dungeon puts pressure on a party over punishing roguelike expeditions; XCOM 2 emphasizes squad tactics alongside a broader strategic layer.
For co-op nights
Left 4 Dead 2 and Payday 2 are team action games, while PlateUp! turns coordination into a cooking-and-management challenge. Terraria also supports multiplayer, but its crafting and exploration make it a more open-ended commitment than a mission-based co-op session.
Rank #2
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
For long-form worlds and simulations
Elite Dangerous is the broadest choice here for space piloting, while Euro Truck Simulator 2 offers a quieter driving routine. Terraria and Middle-earth: Shadow of War provide expansive exploration in very different forms: one built around crafting and discovery, the other around action-RPG combat.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to interpret the prices and recommendations
These are historical sale figures collected by contemporaneous coverage, not a promise that a game still costs that amount. Notebookcheck reported ten sub-$5 picks on October 1, including Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Terraria, Euro Truck Simulator 2, Batman: Arkham Knight, Payday 2, Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition, PlateUp!, Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Control Ultimate Edition. Its report described those titles as Steam Deck Verified at that time; check each game’s current Steam store page for present compatibility information.
Rank #3
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Notebookcheck also reported Euro Truck Simulator 2 as “Overwhelmingly Positive,” based on more than 131,000 reviews when its article was published. That is a historical snapshot, not a current or universal score. Steam explains that for eligible games with more than 2,000 publicly visible reviews and at least 200 reviews in a language, the displayed Review Score may be calculated for the viewer’s primary language, so scores can differ across languages (Steam’s August 18, 2025 announcement).
The list draws on picks and sale prices reported by Notebookcheck, Digital Trends and PC Gamer. Those outlets used different editorial approaches; this selection groups eligible games by variety and play style rather than claiming a consensus ranking.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Rank #4
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- Use it for purchases at any Apple Store location, on the Apple Store app, apple.com, the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple News+, Apple Books, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Fitness+, Apple One, and other Apple properties in US only
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
