"Some people mod because they like to give others joy with their creation. Others [mod] because they just fuckin' feel like it. I'm the latter." I'm chatting over Discord with Reaperrz, a Romanian college student and creator of the Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition, an overhaul mod that completely guts the vanilla game and replaces its systems with new approaches to combat, leveling, magic, and alchemy.

Reaperrz (whose full pseudonym is actually "Sir Reaperrz ‘Custard' McButtfuck, Esq") is one of very few people in the world who are ambitious enough to make an "overhaul mod." Rather than adding the mask from Predator into Witcher's Polish folklore-inspired world, overhaul mods are dramatic, sweeping, and huge amounts of work. There are about 2,100 mods for Witcher 3 listed on Mod Nexus; only about 20 of them are considered overhauls.

I talked to the creators of two of the most popular overhaul mods, Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition and Ghost Mode, to find out how and why they go about remaking one of the most ambitious and celebrated games in recent memory. The answer? Mostly boredom.

Ghost Mode

Anna, a scientist living in Samara, Russia, usually goes by the handle "Wasteland Ghost," shortened to wghost81 in most of her modding projects. She's careful, deliberate, and organized, so it makes sense that she uses her PhD in telecommunications to teach programming at the local university.

That methodical approach has made her mod, Ghost Mode, one of the most endorsed and most downloaded overhaul mods. It started small and grew over the years into a vast and comprehensive clean-up of Witcher 3's many bugs and quirks. "I was trying to fix sign skills… because half of them were not working," Anna says. "Then I realized that there are many other skills that are not working. And when I started fixing them I realized that I [was] making Geralt even more OP than he already is. So I started thinking on damage formula and on leveling system, how to improve them. And then I understood why armor was not working. So yeah, modding is a fun thing: you never know where [you'll] end up."

Anna's approach to her overhaul mod was born out of love for the game. After beating it three times, going through New Game+ mode and playing through on Death March, the hardest difficulty, she still wanted to play it but had run out of things to do. When she tried to experiment with other builds, she realized that many of the less-popular skills and signs didn't work at all. Instead of moving on to a new game, she started making changes.

As her project grew, she started fixing bugs and cleaning up inconsistencies. Did you know that fire elementals can be killed by Igni, the fire sign? I didn't, because I'd be a damn fool if I tried to cast Igni with a fire demon trying to eat my face. But it can be done., which doesn't make much sense. Though most of the monsters in the game look different, they have the same stats under the hood. When she realized that, she spent a year balancing and polishing all of the enemy and armor details. "I still have the spreadsheets," she says, calling it a "nightmare."

I spent some time with Ghost Mode and a few other favorite mods, and it reignited my love for the game in an instant. I remember being disappointed in my first play-through when I upgraded my Axii into the "puppet" mind-control spell, only to find it didn't work. Checking online, I learned it was a known bug. Bummer.

Thanks to Anna, Axii now works beautifully, and I've been tricking bandits into shanking each other for ages. Everything's the same as I remember it, but better: item descriptions don't have typos anymore and merchants don't charge an arm and a leg for a basic sword. I did cast Igni on a fire elemental, just to check, and it burned me alive as punishment. Exactly as advertised.

Enemies of all levels are also savvier. I was feeling confident in a one-on-one with a bandit holding a club, so I was shocked when he dodged my counterattack and planted a hit across my jaw. I don't think I've ever been hit by a lone bandit on a road before.

Ghost Mode is very modular, and one of my favorite options is to simply goose enemy damage by 200% or so. Everything more or less feels the same, but when you get hit you really feel it. Even much lower-level bandits and wolves felt dangerous. Should wolves feel dangerous to a master witcher? That depends on the player, but personally I love it.

After almost three years, Anna has spent more than 1,200 hours inside CD Projekt's magnum opus. She's still regularly updating Ghost Mode. She loves the Witcher 3, and just wants it to be even better. "[I]f the game is bad and boring at its core, no amount of modding support can make me play it and fall in love with it," she says. "And falling in love with the game is the first step, at least for me."

The Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition

"Yeah, I hated the game," Reaperrz says. "I still do, really." After Witcher 2, Reaperrz got as far as White Orchard before he felt like Witcher 3 was a disappointment. The way the combat camera auto-aims, the way nuisance creatures like nekkers level up with you to always pose a (slight) challenge; Witcher 3 felt like too much handholding and not enough freedom to learn new skills.

"I think a game is more fun if you need to get a feel for the mechanics, find out small ways things interact with each other," he says. "I wanted to drop the game after White Orchard because I grew to hate it so much. I noticed you [could] fumble around in there a bit and change some stuff, so with my then sub-par knowledge I started changing stuff around until it sort of worked differently."

The Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition, unlike most of the mods on the Nexus, hasn't been around since Witcher 3 launched in 2015. Reaperrz just posted the project in the summer of 2017, and it's already one of the most popular overhaul mods, just behind Ghost Mode by number of downloads. Reaperrz has posted videos showing how the new combat system works by eliminating the auto-targeting camera; now all of Geralt's acrobatic swordplay and backflips can be aimed manually, letting players flip around an enemy's shield or slip inside their guard.

"I just started looking at stuff more, learning. People asked different questions in the comments, pitched ideas, [and I] slowly branched out to other stuff I disliked about [the game]." By this time, Reaperzz began his degree in programming and math ("though I don't have a predisposition for either," he says). "At one point I stopped working on it for maybe a year and then came back and rewrote most of it from scratch, it kinda went on from there. It was boredom plus community drive—mostly boredom, though."

The Enhanced Edition makes the Northern Realms feel more like a real place and less like a game world. There's a brutal logic working behind Reaperrz's mod. All levels have been removed, even from Geralt himself. "A nekker is always a nekker," Reaperrz says, and he means it. Getting better at skills and unlocking new talents only come from experience using those skills; players become better at alchemy by making potions, not by killing monsters and deciding to spend their experience points in alchemy.

The mod puts much more emphasis on a player's individual skill and dexterity aiming Geralt's attacks. Anything that feels "gamey"—like automatically refilling potions or limiting players to only three bombs—has been stripped away. Carry as many bombs as you want, as long as you can haul the weight.

I really enjoyed my time with the Enhanced Edition, but it doesn't feel as much like a Witcher game. If anything it feels a little like Dark Souls or perhaps the "hardcore" and "survival" genre of mods popular for Fallout 4 or Skyrim. In my experience, these mods are more logically satisfying than "fun," though that word almost sounds like a pejorative here. Killing monsters for coin is not "fun," and Geralt is not often jolly fellow. This mod fits that dour, grim outlook in a realistic and almost off-putting way.

Combat is the biggest difference. Without the auto-targeting camera I found myself flailing and missing enemies until I calmed down and started to aim. Fights in Enhanced Edition feel faster, and I love that head wounds or crippled limbs can happen at any time, and they dramatically change how enemies behave. I also had to unlearn my habit of spamming health potions or food during a fight, as Geralt now has to stop, put away his sword, and slowly chew an apple before it starts to heal him.

Reaperrz is still regularly updating the Enhanced Edition, and he and Anna have collaborated on a few things here and there. Reaperrz asked permission to use bug fixes and other changes Anna included in her mod. Reaperrz acknowledges that the two of them are "polar opposites." "She really loved it and modded it because of that," he says. "I hated it and had free time. The mods themselves reflect that pretty well."

In May, we learned that The Witcher Saga—Andrzej Sapkowski's novel series that inspired CD Projekt Red's fantasy role-player—is getting an English language drama adaptation on streaming service Netflix. Now, it appears Marvel's Daredevil and The Defenders writer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is on board. 

As reported by Variety, Schmidt Hissrich joins as the forthcoming show's executive producer and showrunner. Her writing has also appeared in other popular television shows such as The West Wing and Power. 

Not too much is known about the story of Netflix's The Witcher at this point, however executive producers Sean Daniel and Jason Brown said this earlier this year: "The Witcher stories follow an unconventional family that comes together to fight for truth in a dangerous world. The characters are original, funny and constantly surprising and we can’t wait to bring them to life at Netflix, the perfect home for innovative storytelling."

As for this interpretation of the subject matter, author Andrzej Sapkowski is already signed up as the show's creative consultant. Which I assume means we can expect plenty of naked Geralt bath shots. I've never seen The Hexer—the 2002 Polish language Witcher series adaptation—however if any of our Polish readership has, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

This is not the Witcher 3 I played. In the game I remember, Geralt whirled and twirled his way through combat, magnetising to the nearest enemy. Combat wasn't always easy, and it did have some depth—I had fun wading into crowds of enemies, dodging and rolling out of the way, and buffing up with potions before big fights. But I was always disappointed with the limitations of The Witcher 3's skill upgrade system, and upgrading gear and the Quen sign made late-game battles less challenge, more race to see how fast I could decapitate every monster or thug in sight. The Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition does not play like that. And for anyone who was turned off by The Witcher 3's vanilla combat, this mod might be just what they need to enjoy one of the best games of all time.

Here's the pitch for The Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition, from the mod page: "[Insert generic sales pitch here.]" Okay, well, that doesn't help us at all. Let me take a crack at it: W3EE comes from a team of modders who couldn't stand the vanilla game's combat, and so they set out to fix it by removing autotargeting, adding new animations, new ways to parry attacks, the ability to control the distance of every swing, inflicting and taking injuries to body parts like the head and legs, and a whole slew of new stats that affect damage, speed, etc. And that's just the combat stuff.

What makes Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition a really interesting mod, even if you were fine with the original combat system like I was, is that it completely removes the concept of leveling from the game. Every item, enemy, everything out there in the world has a set level from the get-go. As you'd expect from a mod this big, signs, inventory, and especially alchemy have been radically changed as well. Here are some of the highlights:

"Gameplay and Exploration: There are absolutely no things in the game that are leveled anymore. Not the equipment, not the quests, not the enemies and not even Geralt. You can explore anywhere and take on anything at the beginning of the game with the potential to be successful in your endeavors instead of being completely barred from content. Geralt's progression happens organically through gameplay by using his innate abilities, like performing fast and heavy attacks, blocking, countering, creating alchemical items, casting signs, etc. These all increase the skill progression of their respective paths, granting you talent points for use ONLY in that path. If you brew many potions, you will be good at brewing potions. Makes sense.

"Talents: Talents have been majorly overhauled and rebalanced. Most combat talents were changed, along with half of alchemy ones and a couple of the sign ones. They are active as soon as unlocked and they only need to be equipped to synergize with mutagens.You can preview the later talent levels by highlighting it and using the contextual buttons displayed on the bottom of the screen.

"Poise: Poise is the stat which dictates resistance to stagger. Both the player and enemies have it. It is calculated based on armor worn, available health, red mutagens, toxicity, etc. Higher poise means a higher chance to resist stagger from an incoming light attack (and possibly heavy attacks too, later on)."

That's just a portion of the many changes Enhanced Edition makes, like adding different size enemies and giving enemies armor and more aggressive AI, and giving every alchemy ingredient a set of base components that can be used interchangeably.

But you get the idea. It looks like the same game, but a few seconds into combat and it feels very different. The simple lack of magnetism on attacks meant most of my early swings sliced through the air in front of me. A pack of random nekkers posed a real threat. But I liked the feel of pressing Ctrl or Alt to modify an attack's distance, helping me close gaps and dance behind an enemy to slash them without taking damage. There's suddenly a stiff skill curve here, and not one primarily dictated by what level I am compared to my enemies.

My favorite thing about the original Witcher was how essential potions and oils were to defeating its monsters. That was a hard-ass game, and hard in a way that utterly sold the idea of Witchers and the power of their mutagens. 

Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition feels like it brings that back, and then some. The mod has been in development since last year, but recently hit its v2.5 release, and one member of the mod team posted a new video showing off the combat in more depth. 

This is all a long way of saying: if you felt like you needed an excuse to spend a hundred hours playing The Witcher 3 again, now you have one. You can grab Enhanced Edition on Nexus Mods here.

Black Friday is over, but that just means it's time for Cyber Monday. Tons of sales on digital PC games are still going on, including the big Steam sale, and we'll be updating this page with the best deals we can find. Some of the fall's biggest games, just a few months old, are already nearly half price.

Now is a great time to save on PC hardware, too. Find the best hardware deals in our Cyber Monday deals list, where you'll find discounted GPUs, monitors, RAM, SSDs, cases, keyboards, mice, headsets and everything else you need for the perfect setup. 

Deals on 2017's biggest games

Nier: Automata is $36/£24 on Steam (save 40%). It's one of our favorite RPGs of the year, and it's weird in all the right ways (there are a lot of sad robots).

Tacoma is $11.99/£8.99 on GOG (save 40%) and Steam. It's the somewhat overlooked sci-fi game from the creators of Gone Home that we liked a lot.

Resident Evil 7 is $30/£20 on GMG (save $30/£20) and is similarly discounted on the Humble Store and Steam. That's, like, 1.4 scares per buck. 

The Evil Within 2 is $30 on Amazon (save $30) and £16.99 on Amazon UK.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is $15 on Steam (save $15).

Assassin's Creed Origins is $49.79 on the Ubisoft Store (save $10.20). On the UK store it's £41.49. You can get the same deal on Amazon, too.

Tekken 7 is $25/£20 on the Humble Store (save $25), and is similarly discounted on Fanatical and Steam.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is $40.49 on GOG. It's only $4.50 off, but it's one of our favorite games of the year, and favorite RPGs of all time, so it deserves a shout. 

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is $40.19 on Steam (save $19.80).

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is $30 on GMG (save $10). It's an amazing expansion for a great game.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 is £26 (save 53%) at GamesPlanet.com, which we called "the definitive PES on PC" in our review.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is $23 on Newegg ($7 off) if you use the promo code EMCBBCE32 at checkout.  [Expired]

Prey is only $20/£12.99 on Amazon, and while it's a boxed copy, at 67% off this might be its lowest price since release. It's a very good game, too. [Expired]

Great games under $20

Pillars of Eternity is $12/£9.19 on the Humble Store (60% off). That's a lot of old school isometric adventuring for that money.

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.39/£16.99 on Steam (66% off). OK, that's a few cents over 20 bucks, though in the UK you can shave some off the price by buying from GMG for £15.30.

Dirt Rally is $11.99/£7.99 on Steam (80% off), which is a great discount on a respectable Rally game that, coincidentally, we gave a score of 80 at review.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is $15/£11.50 on Amazon (save $15), which gets you a Steam key. It only came out around six months ago, so it's a quick discount and comes just before a big update. On Amazon UK it's £11.50 (save £7.49).

Overwatch is $19.99 on Battle.net (50% off). In the UK it's £17 (save £13).

Titanfall 2 is $10/£12.49 on Origin (50% off), which is a great price for a great shooter, especially if you like a good singleplayer campaign.

Cities: Skylines is $7.49/£5.74 on Steam (save 75%), which an absolute steal for the best city-building sim on the market right now.

Tyranny is $17.99/£13.99 on Steam (save 60%) and Fanatical, if you want a deep cRPG that lets you be the bad guy. 

Stellaris is $16/£13.99 on Steam (60% off) and Fanatical. A good discount on a beautiful, absorbing 4X.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is $12 on Amazon. That's cheap!

Planet Coaster is $18/£13.49 on the Humble Store (save $18/£13.49). It's one of the best theme park sims around, and adorable with it. 

Ruiner is $13.39/£10.04 on Steam (save 33%) and is one of our favorite recent games.

Hearts of Iron IV is $15.99/£13.99 on Steam (60% off) and Fanatical for the WWII generals out there.

Fallout 4 is $14.99/£10.00 on Steam (save 50%). The rest of the Fallout franchise is also on sale: Fallout 3 is 50% off, and both the original Fallout and Fallout 2 are 75% off.

Great games under $10

Shadowrun Complete Collection is $9.55 on Steam (save 86%). 

Rocket League is $9.99/£7.50 on Green Man Gaming and Steam (save 50%)   

The Sexy Brutale is $9/£6.74 on Fanatical (save $11/£8.25), a good price for a clever adventure game (we gave it an 82%). 

Dead Space is $5/£3.79 on GOG (save $15/£12.20).

Dragon Age: Inquisition is $5/£4.49 on Origin (save $15/about £12), and at that price it's definitely worth a go—it was one of our favorite games of 2014.

Great games under $5

Age of Empires II HD Edition is $4.99/£3.74 on Steam (75% off). Ah, nostalgia.

This War of Mine is $4/£3 on GMG (80% off). Play as a civilian struggling to survive in a warzone.

Oxenfree is just $5/£2.99 on GOG (80% off) it's a moody adventure game about a bunch of ghost-hunting friends.

Divine Divinity is $0.60 on GOG (90% off) if you've found the time to finish Divinity: Original Sin 2 and want to go back to where the series started.

Wuppo is $3.80 on GOG (75% off), which is a decent price for a hidden gem.

Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign is $3/£2.32 on the Humble Store (save $17/£12.67 off its price on Steam). It's one of our all time favorite war strategy games.

System Shock Pack is $4/£3 on the Humble Store (save $16/£12), and includes System Shock Enhanced Edition and System Shock 2. 

Psychonauts is $1/£0.69 on the Humble Store (save $9/£7.19). Nice.

The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is $2/£1.69 on the Humble Store (save $8/£6.40) and we consider it one of the all time best PC metroidvanias. So, not a bad deal. 

Insurgency is $1.00 on Fanatical (save 90%). It's a multiplayer shooter that we rather liked.

Dustforce DX is $2.25/£1.57 on Green Man Gaming ($7.74/£5.42). 

Theme Hospital is $1.49/£1.19 on GOG (save $4.50/£3.40). 

Lords of the Fallen is $4.79/£3.83 on the Humble Store (save about $25/£20).

This War of Mine is $4/£3 on GOG (save $16/£12) and includes the soundtrack. 

Necropolis: Brutal Edition is $4.49/£3.44 on the Humble Store (save $25.50/£19.55). It isn't the best dungeon crawler out there, but it's fun with a friend.

Minecraft: Story Mode Season 1 is free on the Microsoft store, though note there are bonus episodes you'll need to pay for if these five free ones aren't enough.

Sanctum 2 is also free over at the Humble Store, though only for a limited time.

Amazon

Amazon doesn't have many game deals yet, but we expect more to pop up throughout the week. Many of Amazon's PC game sales get you a Steam key, but we'll mention if the deal is for a physical edition or a download from Amazon.

Killing Floor 2 is $15 on Amazon (save $15).

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is $12 on Amazon.

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is $30 on Steam and Amazon (save $10). It's an amazing expansion for a great game. 

GOG

If you spend at least $15 USD during GOG's Black Friday sale you'll get StarCrawlers free.

Tacoma is $11.99/£8.99 on GOG (save 40%). It's the somewhat overlooked sci-fi game from the creators of Gone Home that we liked a lot. 

Oxenfree is just $5/£2.99 on GOG (80% off) it's a moody adventure game about a bunch of ghost-hunting friends. 

Dead Space is $5/£3.79 on GOG (save $15/£12.20).

Kerbal Space Program is $23.99/£18 on GOG (save $16/£12) and is one of the best games of all time by our measure.

Owlboy is $18.69/£14.19 on GOG (save $6.30/£4.80).

The Heroes of Might and Magic bundle is down to just $8.95/£7.05 for five games, if you buy them all.

The Ultima bundle is $8.94/£7.14 on GOG, and includes Ultima 1-9 as well as Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. That's a lot of Ultima for less than $10.

The Tomb Raider bundle is $5.97/£4.77 on GOG (save $24) and includes Tomb Raider 1-3, The Angel of Darkness, The Last Revelation and Chronicles.

The Wing Commander bundle is $10.43/£8.33 on GOG (save $31.50/£23.80) and includes Wing Commander 1-5, Academy, Armada, and Privateer. 

Humble Store 

Humble is running its Fall Sale, and all purchases get you a Steam key for the game. The sale is huge, and there's a lot in the mix, so we've sifted through it to pick out some favorites:

Pillars of Eternity is £9.19 on the Humble Store (60% off). That's a lot of old school isometric adventuring for that money. 

Fallout 4 is $15 on the Humble Store (save $15).

Civilization VI is $30 on the Humble Store (save $30).

Call of Duty: WWII Digital Deluxe Edition is $90 on the Humble Store, for a saving of $10. It's not much but we guess you could use that $10 to buy one of the games below.

Planet Coaster is $18/£13.49 on the Humble Store (save $18/£13.49). It's one of the best theme park sims around, and adorable with it. 

Tekken 7 is $24.99/£19.99 on the Humble Store (half price). We called it "a smart, blisteringly fun" beat 'em in our review, and frankly it's worth buying to smash up the roster as a martial arts panda. 

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag is $6.79 on the Humble Store (save $13.20)

Valkyria Chronicles is $5/£3.74 on the Humble Store (save $15/£11.25). [Expired]

Lichdom: Battlemage is $4/£3 on the Humble Store (save $36/£26).

Green Man Gaming

Green Man is having a Black Friday blowout as usual, though you won't be able to see all of the discounts unless you register and sign in. Where it often diverges from competitors is with small (15% or so) discounts on popular or brand new games, and there are already a few available:

XCOM 2 is $19.80/£11.55 on Green Man Gaming (save 67%). 

No Man's Sky is $24/£16 on Green Man Gaming (save 60%). 

Prey is $20 on Green Man Gaming (half off).

Assassin's Creed Origins is $51/£41.49 on Green Man Gaming (save $9/£8.50). The Official Ubisoft Store slightly beats this at $40.19. UK store has it for £41.49.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is $30/£20 on Green Man Gaming (save 50%).

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is $51 on Green Man Gaming (save $9), though the Official Ubisoft Store beats it with $45. UK edition is £37.50.

Rocket League is $9.99/£7.50 on Green Man Gaming and Steam (save 50%) and if you ask Tyler, it's the best game.

Absolver is $20.09/£16.74 on Steam (33% off)

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is $50/£43 on Green Man Gaming (save $10/£12). It isn't a huge discount, but it's a brand new game, so you may as well save the $10 if you wanted it. [Out of stock]

Fanatical 

Fanatical (formerly Bundle Stars) gives you Steam keys when you buy, and right now they're offering an extra 10% off on some games when you use the code BLACKFRIDAY10. Here are a few highlights from the sale so far:

Mad Max is $5 on Fanatical (save $15). It's surprisingly good!

The Metro Redux Bundle is $6/£4 on Fanatical (save $24/£12), the same as Humble's deal.

The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is $18.74/£14.24 on Fanatical (save $6.25/£4.75), a small discount on this collection of absurd games to play with friends live or over a stream.

Dead Cells is $12.74/£10.50 on Fanatical (save $4.25/£3.50).

Overcooked is $8.49/£6.50 on Fanatical (save $8.50/£6.50); a great couch co-op game.

Tabletop Simulator is $10/£7.49 on Fanatical (save $10/£7.50).

Steam

The annual Steam Autumn Sale is live and will run from November 22 to November 28. Here are the best deals on the PC's biggest games marketplace.

Batman: Arkham Knight is $6.79 / £5.43 on Steam (66% off). It had port problems at launch which still aren't entirely fixed but. If your rig runs it well, it's a decent and very pretty Batman game that's worth a try at this price.

Dishonored 2 is $19.99/£14.99 on Steam (half price). A decent price for one of the best games released last year.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is $8.99/£5.99 on Steam (85% off) and GMG. Worth it just to wander around Adam Jensen's futuristic apartment. 

Dirt Rally is $11.99/£7.99 on Steam (80% off), which is a great discount on a respectable Rally game that, coincidentally, we gave a score of 80 at review. 

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.39/£16.99 on Steam (66% off). In the UK you can shave some off the price by buying from GMG for £15.30. 

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is $40.19 on Steam (save 33%).

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is $30 on Steam and Amazon (save $10). It's an amazing expansion for a great game. 

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is $15 on Steam (save $15). 

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is just $7.49 on Steam (half off).

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition is $10 on Steam (save $10).

Prey is $20/£15 on Steam (half off).

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is $30/£20 on Steam (save 50%).

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is $35.99/£27.00 on Steam (save 40%).

Dark Souls 3 is $23.99/£16.00 on Steam (save 60%).

Crusader Kings 2 is $10/£7.49 on Steam (save $20/£22), and its DLC is discounted, too.

Endless Space 2 is $20/£17.49 on Steam (save $20/£17.49) and just got a big update.

SteamWorld Heist is $4.94/£3.62 on Steam (save about $10/£6), and SteamWorld Dig 2 is $15/£11.42 on Steam (save $5/£3.75).

This War of Mine is 80% off on Steam, coming to just $4/£3. You can find the same deal on GOG.

Origin 

EA ran a Black Friday sale on Origin last year and it's at it again, with some decent discounts on its 2016 lineup, and even some markdowns on 2017 games. Here's the best of what's on offer now:

FIFA 18 is $36/£36.66 on Origin (save $24/33%) and is a definite improvement on previous PC FIFA releases.

Need for Speed Payback is $40/£36.66 on Origin (save $20/about £19), though it's worth noting we didn't exactly care for it.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is $20/£17.49 on Origin (save $20/17.50), and the Deluxe Edition is $25/£22.49 on Origin (save $25/£22.49). Despite all our issues with Andromeda, you're getting a lot of open-world space adventuring for your dollar at those prices. Unless you really want the soundtrack, though, we don't recommend the Deluxe Edition which mostly includes special armor and extra multiplayer items. There won't be any singleplayer DLC.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is $5/£4.49 on Origin (save $15/about £12), and at that price it's definitely worth a go—it was one of our favorite games of 2014.

Ubisoft Store

Ubisoft has some light deals on PC downloads, including for some brand new games. Just make sure you're looking at the PC download edition, as the console discounts are different.

The Division is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $30). It's £16 in the UK.

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.40 on the Ubisoft Store (save $39.59). It's £17 in the UK.

Far Cry Primal is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $30). It's £16 for UK buyers.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $20). For UK readers, it's £17.50.

Battle.net

Blizzard brings us discounts of up to 50% off on three of Battle.net's biggest games: Destiny 2, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft.

Paradox Plaza

Paradox has knocked a lot of money off the best titles in its catalogue, including Cities: Skylines and Tyranny. If you already have these games be sure to check out the smaller but still significant discounts on expansion packs.

Hearts of Iron IV is $15.99/£13.99 on Paradox Plaza (60% off) and Fanatical for the WWII generals out there.

Crusader Kings 2 is $10/£7.50 on Paradox Plaza (75% off), it's still one of the best story generators ever.

Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.

Bookmark this page for the best PC game deals: We'll be posting all the best bargains here as they roll out on Black Friday and throughout the next week, and adding more retailers soon. 

Throughout Black Friday weekend and beyond we'll be scouring the web for the cheapest PC games and discounted software from Steam, GOG, Humble, Amazon, and more, with an eye for new games being discounted for the first time and big limited-time sales where you can snag our favorite games for pocket change. Come back to this page throughout the week, because you never know when a big discount will drop—we'll put the best stuff at the top.

The holidays are a great time to save money on PC hardware, and we're collecting the best deals on graphics cards, CPUs and much more in our best Black Friday PC gaming deals hub—but what good is new hardware without discounted games to play?  

Deals on 2017's biggest games

Tacoma is $11.99/£8.99 on GOG (save 40%) and Steam. It's the somewhat overlooked sci-fi game from the creators of Gone Home that we liked a lot.

Resident Evil 7 is $30/£20 on GMG (save $30/£20) and is similarly discounted on the Humble Store and Steam. That's, like, 1.4 scares per buck. 

The Evil Within 2 is $24.99 on Amazon (save $35) and £16.99 on Amazon UK.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is $15 on Steam (save $15).

Assassin's Creed Origins is $49.79 on the Ubisoft Store (save $10.20). On the UK store it's £41.49. You can get the same deal on Amazon, too.

Tekken 7 is $25/£20 on the Humble Store (save $25), and is similarly discounted on Fanatical and Steam.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is $40.49 on GOG. It's only $4.50 off, but it's one of our favorite games of the year, and favorite RPGs of all time, so it deserves a shout. 

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is $40.19 on Steam (save $19.80).

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is $30 on GMG (save $10). It's an amazing expansion for a great game.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 is £26 (save 53%) at GamesPlanet.com, which we called "the definitive PES on PC" in our review.

Great games under $20

Pillars of Eternity is $12/£9.19 on the Humble Store (60% off). That's a lot of old school isometric adventuring for that money.

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.39/£16.99 on Steam (66% off). OK, that's a few cents over 20 bucks, though in the UK you can shave some off the price by buying from GMG for £15.30.

Dirt Rally is $11.99/£7.99 on Steam (80% off), which is a great discount on a respectable Rally game that, coincidentally, we gave a score of 80 at review.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is $15/£11.50 on Amazon (save $15), which gets you a Steam key. It only came out around six months ago, so it's a quick discount and comes just before a big update. On Amazon UK it's £11.50 (save £7.49).

Overwatch is $19.99 on Battle.net (50% off). In the UK it's £17 (save £13).

Titanfall 2 is $10/£12.49 on Origin (50% off), which is a great price for a great shooter, especially if you like a good singleplayer campaign.

Cities: Skylines is $7.49/£5.74 on Steam (save 75%), which an absolute steal for the best city-building sim on the market right now.

Tyranny is $17.99/£13.99 on Steam (save 60%) and Fanatical, if you want a deep cRPG that lets you be the bad guy. 

Stellaris is $16/£13.99 on Steam (60% off) and Fanatical. A good discount on a beautiful, absorbing 4X.

Planet Coaster is $18/£13.49 on the Humble Store (save $18/£13.49). It's one of the best theme park sims around, and adorable with it. 

Ruiner is $13.39/£10.04 on Steam (save 33%) and is one of our favorite recent games.

Hearts of Iron IV is $15.99/£13.99 on Steam (60% off) and Fanatical for the WWII generals out there.

Fallout 4 is $14.99/£10.00 on Steam (save 50%). The rest of the Fallout franchise is also on sale: Fallout 3 is 50% off, and both the original Fallout and Fallout 2 are 75% off.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is $20 on Amazon. It's been that cheap on Steam before, but if you've been meaning to pick it up now's the time. [Expired]

Great games under $10

Shadowrun Complete Collection is $9.55 on Steam (save 86%). 

Rocket League is $9.99/£7.50 on Green Man Gaming and Steam (save 50%)   

The Sexy Brutale is $9/£6.74 on Fanatical (save $11/£8.25), a good price for a clever adventure game (we gave it an 82%). 

Dead Space is $5/£3.79 on GOG (save $15/£12.20).

Dragon Age: Inquisition is $5/£4.49 on Origin (save $15/about £12), and at that price it's definitely worth a go—it was one of our favorite games of 2014.

Great games under $5

Age of Empires II HD Edition is $4.99/£3.74 on Steam (75% off). Ah, nostalgia.

This War of Mine is $4/£3 on GMG (80% off). Play as a civilian struggling to survive in a warzone.

Oxenfree is just $5/£2.99 on GOG (80% off) it's a moody adventure game about a bunch of ghost-hunting friends.

Divine Divinity is $0.60 on GOG (90% off) if you've found the time to finish Divinity: Original Sin 2 and want to go back to where the series started.

Wuppo is $3.80 on GOG (75% off), which is a decent price for a hidden gem.

Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign is $3/£2.32 on the Humble Store (save $17/£12.67 off its price on Steam). It's one of our all time favorite war strategy games.

System Shock Pack is $4/£3 on the Humble Store (save $16/£12), and includes System Shock Enhanced Edition and System Shock 2. 

Psychonauts is $1/£0.69 on the Humble Store (save $9/£7.19). Nice.

The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is $2/£1.69 on the Humble Store (save $8/£6.40) and we consider it one of the all time best PC metroidvanias. So, not a bad deal. 

Insurgency is $1.00 on Fanatical (save 90%). It's a multiplayer shooter that we rather liked.

Theme Hospital is $1.49/£1.19 on GOG (save $4.50/£3.40). 

Lords of the Fallen is $4.79/£3.83 on the Humble Store (save about $25/£20).

This War of Mine is $4/£3 on GOG (save $16/£12) and includes the soundtrack. 

Necropolis: Brutal Edition is $4.49/£3.44 on the Humble Store (save $25.50/£19.55). It isn't the best dungeon crawler out there, but it's fun with a friend.

Minecraft: Story Mode Season 1 is free on the Microsoft store, though note there are bonus episodes you'll need to pay for if these five free ones aren't enough.

Sanctum 2 is also free over at the Humble Store, though only for a limited time. [Expired]

Dustforce DX is $2.25/£1.57 on Green Man Gaming ($7.74/£5.42). [Expired] 

Amazon

Amazon doesn't have many game deals yet, but we expect more to pop up throughout the week. Many of Amazon's PC game sales get you a Steam key, but we'll mention if the deal is for a physical edition or a download from Amazon.

Killing Floor 2 is $15 on Amazon (save $15).

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is $20 on Amazon (save $20).  [Expired]

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is $30 on Steam and Amazon (save $10). It's an amazing expansion for a great game. 

Prey is only $20 on Amazon, and while it's a boxed copy, that might be its lowest price since release.  [Expired]

GOG

If you spend at least $15 USD during GOG's Black Friday sale you'll get StarCrawlers free.

Tacoma is $11.99/£8.99 on GOG (save 40%). It's the somewhat overlooked sci-fi game from the creators of Gone Home that we liked a lot. 

Oxenfree is just $5/£2.99 on GOG (80% off) it's a moody adventure game about a bunch of ghost-hunting friends. 

Dead Space is $5/£3.79 on GOG (save $15/£12.20).

Kerbal Space Program is $23.99/£18 on GOG (save $16/£12) and is one of the best games of all time by our measure.

Owlboy is $18.69/£14.19 on GOG (save $6.30/£4.80).

The Heroes of Might and Magic bundle is down to just $8.95/£7.05 for five games, if you buy them all.

The Ultima bundle is $8.94/£7.14 on GOG, and includes Ultima 1-9 as well as Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. That's a lot of Ultima for less than $10.

The Tomb Raider bundle is $5.97/£4.77 on GOG (save $24) and includes Tomb Raider 1-3, The Angel of Darkness, The Last Revelation and Chronicles.

The Wing Commander bundle is $10.43/£8.33 on GOG (save $31.50/£23.80) and includes Wing Commander 1-5, Academy, Armada, and Privateer. 

Humble Store 

Humble is running its Fall Sale, and all purchases get you a Steam key for the game. For a limited time, Sanctum is discounted by 100%—which is to say that it's free—and a bunch of other games are available at steep discounts. The sale is huge, and there's a lot in the mix, so we've sifted through it to pick out some favorites:

Pillars of Eternity is £9.19 on the Humble Store (60% off). That's a lot of old school isometric adventuring for that money. 

Fallout 4 is $15 on the Humble Store (save $15).

Civilization VI is $30 on the Humble Store (save $30).

Call of Duty: WWII Digital Deluxe Edition is $90 on the Humble Store, for a saving of $10. It's not much but we guess you could use that $10 to buy one of the games below.

Planet Coaster is $18/£13.49 on the Humble Store (save $18/£13.49). It's one of the best theme park sims around, and adorable with it. 

Tekken 7 is $24.99/£19.99 on the Humble Store (half price). We called it "a smart, blisteringly fun" beat 'em in our review, and frankly it's worth buying to smash up the roster as a martial arts panda. 

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag is $6.79 on the Humble Store (save $13.20)

Valkyria Chronicles is $5/£3.74 on the Humble Store (save $15/£11.25).

Lichdom: Battlemage is $4/£3 on the Humble Store (save $36/£26).

Green Man Gaming

Green Man is having a Black Friday blowout as usual, though you won't be able to see all of the discounts unless you register and sign in. Where it often diverges from competitors is with small (15% or so) discounts on popular or brand new games, and there are already a few available:

XCOM 2 is $19.80/£11.55 on Green Man Gaming (save 67%). 

No Man's Sky is $24/£16 on Green Man Gaming (save 60%). 

Prey is $20 on Green Man Gaming (half off).

Assassin's Creed Origins is $51/£41.49 on Green Man Gaming (save $9/£8.50). The Official Ubisoft Store slightly beats this at $40.19. UK store has it for £41.49.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is $30/£20 on Green Man Gaming (save 50%).

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is $51 on Green Man Gaming (save $9), though the Official Ubisoft Store beats it with $45. UK edition is £37.50.

Rocket League is $9.99/£7.50 on Green Man Gaming and Steam (save 50%) and if you ask Tyler, it's the best game.

Absolver is $20.09/£16.74 on Steam (33% off)

Fanatical 

Fanatical (formerly Bundle Stars) gives you Steam keys when you buy, and right now they're offering an extra 10% off on some games when you use the code BLACKFRIDAY10. Here are a few highlights from the sale so far:

Mad Max is $5 on Fanatical (save $15). It's surprisingly good!

The Metro Redux Bundle is $6/£4 on Fanatical (save $24/£12), the same as Humble's deal.

The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is $18.74/£14.24 on Fanatical (save $6.25/£4.75), a small discount on this collection of absurd games to play with friends live or over a stream.

Dead Cells is $12.74/£10.50 on Fanatical (save $4.25/£3.50).

Overcooked is $8.49/£6.50 on Fanatical (save $8.50/£6.50); a great couch co-op game.

Tabletop Simulator is $10/£7.49 on Fanatical (save $10/£7.50).

Steam

The annual Steam Autumn Sale is live and will run from November 22 to November 28. Here are the best deals on the PC's biggest games marketplace.

Dishonored 2 is $19.99/£14.99 on Steam (half price). A decent price for one of the best games released last year.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is $8.99/£5.99 on Steam (85% off) and GMG. Worth it just to wander around Adam Jensen's futuristic apartment. 

Dirt Rally is $11.99/£7.99 on Steam (80% off), which is a great discount on a respectable Rally game that, coincidentally, we gave a score of 80 at review. 

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.39/£16.99 on Steam (66% off). In the UK you can shave some off the price by buying from GMG for £15.30. 

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is $40.19 on Steam (save 33%).

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is $30 on Steam and Amazon (save $10). It's an amazing expansion for a great game. 

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider is $15 on Steam (save $15). 

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is just $7.49 on Steam (half off).

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition is $10 on Steam (save $10).

Prey is $20/£15 on Steam (half off).

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is $30/£20 on Steam (save 50%).

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is $35.99/£27.00 on Steam (save 40%).

Dark Souls 3 is $23.99/£16.00 on Steam (save 60%).

Crusader Kings 2 is $10/£7.49 on Steam (save $20/£22), and its DLC is discounted, too.

Endless Space 2 is $20/£17.49 on Steam (save $20/£17.49) and just got a big update.

SteamWorld Heist is $4.94/£3.62 on Steam (save about $10/£6), and SteamWorld Dig 2 is $15/£11.42 on Steam (save $5/£3.75).

This War of Mine is 80% off on Steam, coming to just $4/£3. You can find the same deal on GOG.

Origin 

EA ran a Black Friday sale on Origin last year and it's at it again, with some decent discounts on its 2016 lineup, and even some markdowns on 2017 games. Here's the best of what's on offer now:

FIFA 18 is $36/£36.66 on Origin (save $24/33%) and is a definite improvement on previous PC FIFA releases.

Need for Speed Payback is $40/£36.66 on Origin (save $20/about £19), though it's worth noting we didn't exactly care for it.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is $20/£17.49 on Origin (save $20/17.50), and the Deluxe Edition is $25/£22.49 on Origin (save $25/£22.49). Despite all our issues with Andromeda, you're getting a lot of open-world space adventuring for your dollar at those prices. Unless you really want the soundtrack, though, we don't recommend the Deluxe Edition which mostly includes special armor and extra multiplayer items. There won't be any singleplayer DLC.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is $5/£4.49 on Origin (save $15/about £12), and at that price it's definitely worth a go—it was one of our favorite games of 2014.

Ubisoft Store

Ubisoft has some light deals on PC downloads, including for some brand new games. Just make sure you're looking at the PC download edition, as the console discounts are different.

The Division is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $30). It's £16 in the UK.

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.40 on the Ubisoft Store (save $39.59). It's £17 in the UK.

Far Cry Primal is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $30). It's £16 for UK buyers.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $20). For UK readers, it's £17.50.

Battle.net

Blizzard brings us discounts of up to 50% off on three of Battle.net's biggest games: Destiny 2, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft.

Paradox Plaza

Paradox has knocked a lot of money off the best titles in its catalogue, including Cities: Skylines and Tyranny. If you already have these games be sure to check out the smaller but still significant discounts on expansion packs.

Hearts of Iron IV is $15.99/£13.99 on Paradox Plaza (60% off) and Fanatical for the WWII generals out there.

Crusader Kings 2 is $10/£7.50 on Paradox Plaza (75% off), it's still one of the best story generators ever.

Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.

Bookmark this page for the best PC game deals: We'll be posting all the best bargains here as they roll out on Black Friday and throughout the next week, and adding more retailers soon. 

Throughout Black Friday weekend and beyond we'll be scouring the web for the cheapest PC games and discounted software from Steam, GOG, Humble, Amazon, and more, with an eye for new games being discounted for the first time and big limited-time sales where you can snag our favorite games for pocket change. Come back to this page throughout the week, because you never know when a big discount will drop—we'll put the best stuff at the top.

The holidays are a great time to save money on PC hardware, and we're collecting the best deals on graphics cards, CPUs and much more in our best Black Friday PC gaming deals hub—but what good is new hardware without discounted games to play?  

The hottest deals right now

Tekken 7 is $24.99/£19.99 on the Humble Store (half price), and is similarly discounted on Fanatical and Steam.

Tyranny is $17.99/£13.99 on Steam (save 60%) and Fanatical, if you want a deep cRPG that lets you be the bad guy.

Cities: Skylines is $7.49/£5.74 on Steam (save 75%), which an absolute steal for the best city-building sim on the market right now.

Stellaris is $15/£13.99 on Steam (60% off) and Fanatical. A good discount on a beautiful, absorbing 4X.

Hearts of Iron IV is $15.99/£13.99 on Steam (60% off) and Fanatical for the WWII generals out there.

Fallout 4 is $14.99/£10.00 on Steam (save 50%). The rest of the Fallout franchise is also on sale: Fallout 3 is 50% off, and both the original Fallout and Fallout 2 are 75% off.

XCOM 2 is $19.80/£11.55 on Green Man Gaming (save 67%).

Dark Souls 3 is $23.99/£16.00 on Steam (save 60%).

Battlefield 1 is $20/£17.49 on Origin (save $20/£17.50), though we'd recommend the Battlefield 1 Revolution Edition for $30/£27.49 on Origin (save $30/£27.50) as it includes all the DLC.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is $15 on Amazon (save $15), which gets you a Steam key. It only came out around six months ago, so it's a quick discount and comes just before a big update. On Amazon UK it's £11.50 (save £7.49).

Overwatch is $20 on Battle.net (50% off). In the UK it's £17 (save £13).

Titanfall 2 is $10/£12.49 on Origin (50% off), which is a great price for a great shooter, especially if you like a good singleplayer campaign.

Assassin's Creed Origins is $49.79 on the Ubisoft Store (save $10.20). On the UK store it's £41.49.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is $51/£34 on Green Man Gaming (save $9/£6).

No Man's Sky is $24/£16 on Green Man Gaming (save 60%).

Rocket League is $10/£7.50 on Green Man Gaming (save 50%).

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is just $12 on Amazon (save $28). It's been that cheap on Steam before, but if you've been meaning to pick it up now's the time. It's a mere £9 on Amazon UK too (save £21).

Kerbal Space Program is $23.99/£18 on GOG (save $16/£12) and is one of the best games of all time by our measure.

The Metro Redux Bundle is $6/£5 on the Humble Store (save $24/£20) and includes two of our favorite shooters, Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light.

Planet Coaster is $18/£13.49 on the Humble Store (save $18/£13.49). It's one of the best theme park sims around, and adorable with it. 

The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is $2/£1.59 on the Humble Store (save $8/£6.40) and it's a fantastic metroidvania. Well worth a couple bucks.

The Sexy Brutale is $9/£6.74 on Fanatical (save $11/£8.25), a good price for a clever adventure game (we gave it an 82%).

Ruiner is $13.39/£10.04 on Steam (save 33%) and is one of our favorite recent games.

Amazon

Amazon doesn't have many game deals yet, but we expect more to pop up throughout the week. Many of Amazon's PC game sales get you a Steam key, but we'll mention if the deal is for a physical edition or a download from Amazon.

Killing Floor 2 is $15 on Amazon (save $15).

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is $12 on Amazon (save $28).

GOG

At the time of writing you've got a couple days to get MDK completely free on GOG, and if you spend at least $15 USD during GOG's Black Friday sale you'll get StarCrawlers free, too.

Dead Space is $5/£3.79 on GOG (save $15/£12.20).

Kerbal Space Program is $23.99/£18 on GOG (save $16/£12) and is one of the best games of all time by our measure.

This War of Mine is $4/£3 on GOG (save $16/£12) and includes the soundtrack.

Owlboy is $18.69/£14.19 on GOG (save $6.30/£4.80).

Theme Hospital is $1.49/£1.19 on GOG (save $4.50/£3.40).

The Heroes of Might and Magic bundle is down to just $8.95/£7.05 for five games, if you buy them all.

The Ultima bundle is $8.94/£7.14 on GOG, and includes Ultima 1-9 as well as Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. That's a lot of Ultima for less than $10.

The Tomb Raider bundle is $5.97/£4.77 on GOG (save $24) and includes Tomb Raider 1-3, The Angel of Darkness, The Last Revelation and Chronicles.

The Wing Commander bundle is $10.43/£8.33 on GOG (save $31.50/£23.80) and includes Wing Commander 1-5, Academy, Armada, and Privateer. 

Humble Store 

Humble is running its Fall Sale, and all purchases get you a Steam key for the game. For a limited time, Brutal Legend is discounted by 100%—which is to say that it's free—and a bunch of other games are available at steep discounts. The sale is huge, and there's a lot in the mix, so we've sifted through it to pick out some favorites:

System Shock Pack is $4/£3 on the Humble Store (save $16/£12), and includes System Shock Enhanced Edition and System Shock 2.

Valkyria Chronicles is $5/£3.74 on the Humble Store (save $15/£11.25).

Lichdom: Battlemage is $4/£3 on the Humble Store (save $36/£26).

Necropolis: Brutal Edition is $4.49/£3.44 on the Humble Store (save $25.50/£19.55). It isn't the best dungeon crawler out there, but it's fun with a friend.

Lords of the Fallen is $4.79/£3.83 on the Humble Store (save about $25/£20).

Psychonauts is $1/£0.69 on the Humble Store (save $9/£7.19).

Green Man Gaming

Green Man is having a Black Friday blowout as usual, though you won't be able to see all of the discounts unless you register and sign in. Where it often diverges from competitors is with small (15% or so) discounts on popular or brand new games, and there are already a few available:

XCOM 2 is $19.80/£11.55 on Green Man Gaming (save 67%). 

No Man's Sky is $24/£16 on Green Man Gaming (save 60%). 

Assassin's Creed Origins is $51/£41.49 on Green Man Gaming (save $9/£8.50). The Official Ubisoft Store slightly beats this at $40.19. UK store has it for £41.49.

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is $51/£34 on Green Man Gaming (save $9/£6).

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is $51 on Green Man Gaming (save $9), though the Official Ubisoft Store beats it with $45. UK edition is £37.50.

Rocket League is $10/£7.50 on Green Man Gaming (save 50%) and if you ask Tyler, it's the best game. The best game that there is. (He plays way too much Rocket League.)

Absolver is $25.49/£19.54 on Green Man Gaming (save $4.50/about £3.50).

Dustforce DX is $2.25/£1.57 on Green Man Gaming ($7.74/£5.42).

Fanatical 

Fanatical (formerly Bundle Stars) gives you Steam keys when you buy, and right now they're offering an extra 10% off on some games when you use the code BLACKFRIDAY10. Here are a few highlights from the sale so far:

Mad Max is $5 on Fanatical (save $15). It's surprisingly good!

The Metro Redux Bundle is $6/£4 on Fanatical (save $24/£12), the same as Humble's deal.

The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is $18.74/£14.24 on Fanatical (save $6.25/£4.75), a small discount on this collection of absurd games to play with friends live or over a stream.

Dead Cells is $12.74/£10.50 on Fanatical (save $4.25/£3.50).

Overcooked is $8.49/£6.50 on Fanatical (save $8.50/£6.50); a great couch co-op game.

Tabletop Simulator is $10/£7.49 on Fanatical (save $10/£7.50).

Steam

The annual Steam Autumn Sale is live and will run from November 22 to November 28. Here are the best deals on the PC's biggest games marketplace.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is $35.99/£27.00 on Steam (save 40%).

Dark Souls 3 is $23.99/£16.00 on Steam (save 60%).

Crusader Kings 2 is $10/£7.49 on Steam (save $20/£22), and its DLC is discounted, too.

Endless Space 2 is $20/£17.49 on Steam (save $20/£17.49) and just got a big update.

SteamWorld Heist is $4.94/£3.62 on Steam (save about $10/£6), and SteamWorld Dig 2 is $15/£11.42 on Steam (save $5/£3.75).

This War of Mine is 80% off on Steam, coming to just $4/£3. You can find the same deal on GOG.

Origin 

EA ran a Black Friday sale on Origin last year and it's at it again, with some decent discounts on its 2016 lineup, and even some markdowns on 2017 games. Here's the best of what's on offer now:

FIFA 18 is $36/£36.66 on Origin (save $24/33%) and is a definite improvement on previous PC FIFA releases.

Need for Speed Payback is $40/£36.66 on Origin (save $20/about £19), though it's worth noting we didn't exactly care for it.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is $20/£17.49 on Origin (save $20/17.50), and the Deluxe Edition is $25/£22.49 on Origin (save $25/£22.49). Despite all our issues with Andromeda, you're getting a lot of open-world space adventuring for your dollar at those prices. Unless you really want the soundtrack, though, we don't recommend the Deluxe Edition which mostly includes special armor and extra multiplayer items. There won't be any singleplayer DLC.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is $5/£4.49 on Origin (save $15/about £12), and at that price it's definitely worth a go—it was one of our favorite games of 2014.

Ubisoft Store

Ubisoft has some light deals on PC downloads, including for some brand new games. Just make sure you're looking at the PC download edition, as the console discounts are different.

The Division is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $30). It's £16 in the UK.

Watch Dogs 2 is $20.40 on the Ubisoft Store (save $39.59). It's £17 in the UK.

Far Cry Primal is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $30). It's £16 for UK buyers.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate is $20 on the Ubisoft Store (save $20). For UK readers, it's £17.50.

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Welcome back to the PC Gamer Q&A! Every Saturday, we ask our panel of PC Gamer writers a question about PC gaming. Tim's answer is usually 'Hearthstone'. This week: which game would you take to a desert island?

Shout out to the enjoyable podcast Final Games, which asks this very question to guests every episode (which have included PCG's Andy Kelly and Samuel Roberts in the past), allowing them to pick six games. Here, though, we've just limited the selection to one game. 

As ever, we'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments, too.

Tim Clark: The Orange Box

I've resisted the temptation to draw Samuel's ire by answering Hearthstone again, but I am going to assume the island has a working internet connection and pick The Orange Box. Between the infinite replayability, the sheer joy of Portal, and the no small matter of Episodes 1 and 2, I'm pretty sure I win on pure value. 

Jarred Walton: Game Maker Studio/Unity Engine

Game? How about software? Depending on how ambitious I'm feeling, I'd take either Unity Engine or Game Maker Studio. Then, as I basked in the sun waiting for rescue for the next several years, I could finally see about getting around to building my magnum opus. And let's assume I have all the necessary tools for doing graphics, sound, etc. and that infinite power is available.

The game would be something cyberpunk, but the great thing about having a software development platform is that I wouldn't need to create just one game. I could dabble in all sorts of genres and make as many games as I wanted—or at least, as many as I had time to create before I was rescued, brought back to humanity, and became an instant millionaire with my wildly successful first indie release. Don't pinch me, I'm enjoying my dreams.

Jody Macgregor: Stardew Valley

Is it weird to bring a game about growing food to an island where I'll be growing food to survive? Stardew Valley could be useful, reminding me when it's a good time to plant turnips or whatever. Plus, since I assume there's no wi-fi on this island, I'd be able to experience it properly. I came to Stardew Valley late so there was already a wiki full of advice on what gifts to give people and where they hang out at any time of day, which spoiled it a bit for me. I never had that experience of waiting outside somebody's door all day just to give them a fish they'd asked for.

Mostly I'd bring Stardew Valley because it would make me less lonely. That virtual village of people would be better substitute friends than a ball with a face on it. Spending time with them makes me genuinely happy. Just filling my dog's bowl, harvesting some crops and walking into town to check in with people lifts my spirits, straight-up sunshine injected into my heart. The only other game that improves my mood as surely as Stardew Valley is Blood Bowl, a game about football and murder, but let's gloss over that.

Andy Kelly: The Witcher 3 and all the DLC

If I'm trapped on a desert island, escapism is going to be important. So I'd take The Witcher 3 and all the DLC. That's a game you can get lost in, and it's so impossibly huge that by the time I've finished it I'll have forgotten most of it, making it feel fresh when I start all over again.

And when I've absolutely exhausted the storyline and know every quest by heart, I can just focus on getting really good at Gwent. Maybe set myself a goal like beating every single Gwent-playing NPC in the Northern Kingdoms or collecting every card. That should rinse through a few years. 

Wes Fenlon: Spelunky

I'm just going to be honest: the only way I'd ever complete a Hell run in Spelunky is if I was trapped on a desert island with nothing to do but play Spelunky. Instead of telling you again why it's incredible, I'll just refer you to its #10 ranking on this year's Top 100, and its well-deserved Game of the Year 2013 award. 

Chris Livingston: Crusader Kings 2

Really, even in casual dabblings with CK2, there's always something interesting happening, some curious and enjoyable little stories bubbling to the surface, some random events throwing a medieval wrench into the works, some massive battle or minor yet incredibly personal beef occupying your attention. Every session of CK2 feels completely different, even with the same starting country and scenario. If I can bring some of the full conversion mods along too, I'll never be wanting for great new stories and long-lasting memories. And I play for a few years solid with no interruptions, maybe one day I'll be so on top of things that my character won't be over their demesne limit. 

Austin Wood: Dungeons of Dredmor

I was having trouble with this one until Wes answered Spelunky. Which reminded me that, despite countless runs, I've never actually reached the bottom of Dungeons of Dredmor and killed Dredmor himself. A trip to a desert island would give me time to finish things once and for all. Plus if I can finagle mod support, or at least download the DLC, I may still never see everything the dungeon has to offer. 

Samuel Roberts: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

I'm half-tempted to pick an MMO I've never had time for, like The Old Republic or Guild Wars 2, but if I'm being honest with myself, MGS5 is the one. Missions play out differently each time, and the more hours you invest, the more tools you unlock to mess around with the enemies and their surrounding environment. Reaching S-rank on every mission would consume plenty of time, and while island life would be lonely, I could always pat D-Dog if it all gets a bit much.

But what about you, kind reader? Let us know below.

Dreams of The Witcher 4 will probably never become reality, judging by the words of CD Projekt chief executive Adam Kiciński. 

He told Polish site Strefa Inwestorow that the developer has no plans for Geralt to make a comeback because The Witcher was envisaged as a trilogy, and the third game provided a definitive end to his story. 

However, the company will "probably" make another game in the Witcher universe at some point to keep fans and investors happy. It sounds like there's nothing concrete in place but if it's not a definitive sequel we can probably expect some kind of spin-off with a new cast of characters.

He also spoke a little about his ambition for Cyberpunk 2077, the developer's next open-world RPG. Kiciński said it will be much bigger in scope than The Witcher 3, and that he hopes it will become more successful. It also sounds like the developer wants to add a lot of new features to its card game Gwent in 2018, having spent 2017 balancing the gameplay.

Thanks to IGN and Reset Era user Cornbread78 for the translation.

The first Witcher was a great game, but I returned to it recently and it's showing its age. If you want to learn more about Geralt's origins but can't take the rough edges then you're in luck, because you can now play through its prologue in The Witcher 3's engine thanks to a fan-made mod.

Witcher 1 Prologue Remastered does exactly what it says on the tin, recreating the opening hour of Geralt's first outing with all the visual and mechanical excellence we've come to expect from CD Projekt Red. It's not perfect (it's basically a complete recreation in the Witcher 3, and some things don't translate directly), but it looks pretty darn good.

The trailer is above but if you don't mind story spoilers then someone has uploaded a full 50-minute play through. If you're not sure whether to download it, then watch a couple of minutes first: 

Click here for installation instructions—you're going to need to remove all other mods from The Witcher 3 before you can play it.

And before you ask, no, the modders aren't planning a full remake of The Witcher in the third game's engine. From reading the discussion on the prologue mod's page it sounds like it's impossible to do with the modding tools that CD Projekt Red has provided. Making this prologue took nearly a year on its own.

If you get drawn into the story, you can buy the first game on GOG for less than $2 right now.

In many ways, CD Projekt Red, the development branch of Polish game company CD Projekt, sounds like a fantastic place to work: Successful and financially stable, but still very "indie" and pleasingly renegade. Not everyone thinks so, though. Head over to Glassdoor.co.uk, a website where people rate and review the companies they work for, and you'll see some rather harsh comments about the state of the place, including accusations that it's directionless, chaotic, and in one blunt summation, "bad." 

Not everyone who leaves a company is going to do so under happy circumstances, and disgruntled former employees are far more inclined to make noise about things than those who depart happy. Negative feedback is natural and inevitable, in other words, and generally passes without comment from the company in question. But this time, and "especially in light of the fact that we haven't communicated anything about Cyberpunk 2077 for a long time and saw some gamers getting worried about the project," CD Projekt elected to respond publicly. 

"In 2015, when we released The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we were over 200 developers strong and that was the core crew of the studio. Since then, we've almost doubled the headcount and we're still hiring," co-founder Marcin Iwinski and studio head Adam Badowski wrote in a statement shared on Twitter. "Do people leave? Sure they do. We always wish them all the best and respect both their decision and the feedback they give us as the reason for their departure." 

Iwinski and Badowski acknowledged that the studio had bitten off more than it rightly should have been able to chew throughout the making of The Witcher series. "When we start down the road to creating something, we know the destination and we're sure of one thing: Even if something feels impossible, it doesn't mean it is," they wrote. "And, as it turns out, most often things are perfectly possible, they just require a lot of faith, commitment, and spirit." 

And also, you can reasonably infer from the statement, a lot of long hours and hard work. "This approach to making games is not for everyone. It often requires a conscious effort to 'reinvent the wheel'—even if you personally think it already works like a charm," they continued. "But you know what? We believe reinventing the wheel every friggin' time is what makes a better game. It's what creates innovation and makes it possible for us to say we've worked really hard on something, and we think it's worth your hard-earned cash." 

And also this:

As true as it is that unhappy employees are inevitable, it's also true that this can easily be seen in the same light as Alex St. John's crunch apologia from 2016: Simplistically, that if you really love games then you'll happily bleed to make them. Ultimately, I suspect that the reality of the situation lies somewhere between anonymous Glassdoor venting and the studio's "all is well" missive, and that despite its wild rebel trappings, CD Projekt Red is a lot like most other big studios out there. 

As for Cyberpunk 2077—the thing we really want to know about—it's "progressing as planned, but we are taking our time," Iwinski and Badowski wrote. "In this case, silence is the cost of making a great game." I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. 

CD Projekt Red's full statement is below.