Black Friday gaming deals are returning to our shelves later this year, with November 29 bringing us a whole new roster of discounts to sort through. Whether you're upgrading your console setup or springing for a whole new PC rig, we're expecting to see some of the year's biggest savings in this year's holiday period. Indeed, the deals have already started flowing, and at a rapid rate at that.
The Nintendo Switch and PS5 Slim are feeling the pressure right now. The former has its second iteration waiting in the wings for release in 2025 and the latter has seen several discounts so far this year. Throw in a premium AU$1,199 mid-cycle refresh, and you've got a recipe for some particularly tasty savings.
We've been tracking Black Friday gaming deals for years now, and we watch for PS5 deals, Xbox Series X deals and Nintendo Switch deals all year round. That means we've picked up a thing or two about the year's biggest sale season, and we're sharing all our top tips and tricks right here.
This year will look a little different, though. New consoles are threatening old giants, and PC components are gearing up for a new wave of releases as well. We're rounding up everything you can expect from this year's sale right here.
Early PS5 Black Friday deals in Australia
Early Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals in Australia
Black Friday gaming deals - what to expect
While video game deals themselves get plenty of airtime, accessories receive the lion's share. Headsets, hard drives, and more are typically cut by huge amounts during the sale, and that makes it the best time to grab any peripherals you've had your eye on.
The best offers often feature subscription services like PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass, though. These always seem to get money off toward the end of November (as was the case again in 2023), and it's a great opportunity to renew your membership - or start a new one - ahead of the new year.
We've listed a few specifics based on platform below.
Nintendo
This could be a big one. While we've accepted now that we likely won't have a Nintendo Switch 2 until 2025, this could be the original model's final hurrah. That's not to say the standard, OLED, and Lite consoles won't stick around once the new release hits the shelves, but this is the last year they'll be top dogs. That means we could see a little extra wiggle room on the RRP itself.
2024 has been a pretty average year for Nintendo Switch console bargains, but you'll usually find both the OLED and vanilla models for less than the RRP in Australia. We're hoping to see more dramatic discounts (something like AU$450 for the OLED model would make us happy) but for the most part, it'll be software and accessories that'll get the more substantial cuts.
PS5
2024 was an excellent year for PS5 deals in general. Not only is stock no longer an issue, but we saw the very first price cuts ever on the full console over the summer and two day-one bundles on the new PS5 Slim over Black Friday. Straight discounts didn't hit during the event itself, but that could change this year. After all, we've got the PS5 Pro to contend with on November 7 - a particularly impressive mid-cycle refresh. No, we're not expecting that $699.99 price tag to waver on Black Friday itself, but we could be in with a shot at some bundle deals. Instead, the PS5 Slim could well drop to its own record-lows again, having previously been spotted at AU$650 this year so far.
If you have any gaps in your game library from the past year or so, Black Friday PS5 deals offer you a chance to catch up. Everything from hot new releases to old favorites are discounted throughout the event, but it's well worth keeping a close eye on games released in the first half of the year for the biggest savings. Last year Hogwarts Legacy, Dead Island, Final Fantasy XVI, and Resident Evil 4 Remake all saw record low prices for the first time during Black Friday gaming deals. Of course, the usual classics are generally discounted during this time as well.
Of course, if your library's all stocked up there are plenty of PS5 accessories to refresh your setup. The DualSense controller is likely to be a front runner this year, after enjoying low prices of AU$79 throughout 2024. We're expecting costs to settle back to this position come November as well. However, if you're after something a little out of the box we'd also recommend keeping a close eye on the Victrix Pro BFG. Our favorite PS5 controller of the lot, it's already cheaper than the DualSense Edge and could be primed for its first major discounts this Black Friday.
Xbox
We also saw the Xbox Series X take its own price cuts over the course of last year with AU$50 off the console. Discounts haven't been as abundant in 2024, but we're hoping for prices to hit around AU$699 during Black Friday, though the Xbox Series X tends to receive fewer discounts compared to its stablemate the Xbox Series S.
If you're already set for a console, though, we tend to see both first-party and third-party Xbox games go for very cheap during Black Friday. More reliable is the Xbox controller, which you can usually nab for AU$69 during big sale events.
PC
It's all about hardware for PC gamers. Keyboards, mice, headsets, and mics from across the spectrum get massive reductions of up to 60% or more, while prebuilt rigs also drop a few hundred dollars on the regular. In much the same way, laptops are worthy contenders for a saving. These machines receive some of the most noteworthy discounts of Black Friday, and those reductions are available everywhere from Amazon to Newegg. Considering the high price of the top gaming laptops to start with, Black Friday is the perfect opportunity to buy them as a result.
Black Friday gaming deals - FAQ
When will Black Friday gaming deals start in Australia?
The sales event of the year traditionally takes place toward the end of November - to be precise, the final Friday of the month. That means you can expect 2024's Black Friday gaming deals to occur on November 29.
However, they won't be limited to that one day. Black Friday kicks off much earlier than you might expect, and it continues into the following week as well (at which point the savings morph into Cyber Monday gaming deals). That means you should start keeping an eye out from mid-November - while the best discounts are reserved for Black Friday itself, lots of good ones will make an appearance before then.
Where will the best Black Friday gaming deals be?
Almost everyone tries to get in on Black Friday each year, so you can be sure that any retailer you visit will have price cuts of some description. Still, some are better than others. In our experience, these are the stores to prioritize:
Amazon: big variety of deals on consoles, games, toys and more
Dell: Find Alienware monitors, keyboards and gaming laptops
eBay: Coupons for extra discounts on peripherals and games
Fanatical: Steam keys, bundle game offers and more
Green Man Gaming: Variety of games for PC, Mac and console
HP: Peripherals and gaming laptops direct from HP
JB Hi-Fi: Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation consoles, games and more
JW Computers: PC parts, peripherals and monitors
Lego: Find a variety of sets including the Pac-Man Arcade
Lenovo: Find monitors, peripherals and more primed for gaming
Mighty Ape: Find collectables, games and more
Mwave: Controllers, gaming laptops, monitors and more
PB Tech: PC parts and accessories to upgrade your setup
Razer: Shop Razer peripherals and laptops straight from the source
Will there be PS5 and Xbox Series X Black Friday gaming deals?
Discounts on PS5 or Xbox Series X games and accessories are already there for the taking, while the Xbox Series S console has landed a saving of AU$100.
For the top-range next-gen consoles, it's a different story. Even though we were hoping we might see discounts on these ones, that was probably too much to hope for given the stock issues still aren't fully resolved. But that stock problem is one thing to note here, as the PS5 especially seems to have miraculously appeared with stock just in time for Black Friday. So if you've been waiting less for a discount and more for just opportunity, you could be in luck.
Should you wait for Black Friday gaming deals?
Yes, you should definitely hold fire on any purchases until Black Friday gaming deals kick off at the end of November. Like all tech, games get significant price cuts throughout the event and many items hit all-time lows. That includes everything from the latest PS5 titles to Xbox consoles, so there's little benefit to jumping the gun here.
However, on the flip-side of that, you'll need to be quick when the sales roll around. They can sell out quickly, and many form blink-and-you'll-miss-it 'Lightning Deals' on Amazon. In other words, stay alert throughout the week of Black Friday - getting the best reductions will depend on it.
The Black Friday gaming deals aren't going to be the only good offers for the rest of the year: make sure you check out our regularly updated best gaming deals in Australia page.
