Greatest Black Friday gaming deals in 2022: Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and more in the UK

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.

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Gaming is an expensive hobby. You’ll be lucky to have any cash left once you’ve purchased a console, desktop, or laptop, and then stocked up on all the necessary games and accessories. It all adds up, so you should do everything you can to find the greatest deals on gaming essentials. There are plenty of opportunities to save on consoles, games, headsets, controllers, and more each year, but nothing comes to Black Friday.

Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) is famous for gaming deals, so if you are looking to indulge your passion for gaming and save some money at the same time, these sales are a good place to start. 

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday had began in the U.S., but seems to be taking on greater significance every year in the UK.

Since the 1950s, shops in the U.S. have offered impressive deals on the day after Thanksgiving to kick-start the Christmas shopping season. In 2013, Asda had a Black Friday sale on this side of the pond, and offered deals on a wide range of goods. Other retailers jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon the following year, and the rest is history.

We collectively spent £435 million in 2013, when the concept was still in its infancy in the UK. Nowadays we spend billions — the highest total in Europe. Black Friday is clearly a very different beast compared to just a few years ago, and this trend is set to continue in 2022.

When is Black Friday in 2022?

While Black Friday proper falls on Nov. 25 this year, retailers will start trickling out their deals much sooner. Black Friday really lasts from mid October all the way through to December.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday — what’s the difference?

Scoring a great deal on Black Friday once meant camping out at a retailer in the middle of the night right as the store opened. But once online shopping became mainstream, online retailers had wanted a piece of the Black Friday pie. Cyber Monday was born thanks to people of the early 2000s wanting the greatest possible internet connection to do their shopping. At the time, office computers had better broadband than home setups, causing people to wait until work on Monday to do all their online shopping. In 2005, the NRF debuted the term Cyber Monday and we’ve been online shopping after ever since.

Last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales effectively bled together since in-person shopping wasn’t really a thing. We’ll almost certainly see that repeat this year.

What gaming deals will we see in 2022?

The only thing anyone wants to know about is deals on the Xbox Series X(opens in a new tab) and PS5(opens in a new tab). We’re not promising any deals on next-gen consoles, but you never know. You have a better chance of finding deals on accessories for the next-gen consoles, so it could be worth keeping an eye on controllers and headsets.

All leading gaming retailers start dropping deals from the start of November (or even sooner), with offers on everything from stacked bundles to new releases. So what can gamers expect from Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2022? The likes of Amazon, Currys, and Argos have a history of posting impressive gaming deals, but it isn’t just these guys. Pretty much every gaming retailer will offer some big savings during this busy shopping season, so if you don’t see what you are looking for from one retailer, remain calm and move onto the next. We repeat: don’t panic.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X might feature in bundle deals over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and we always see discounted Nintendo Switches bundles at this time of year. These deals are always popular during this period, and we don’t expect anything to change in 2022.

New games have been known to drop to half price at this time, so if you resisted the urge to grab something on release, you might end up bagging a great deal in November.

Where can you find the greatest gaming deals in 2022?

The greatest retailers to consider if you’re looking to invest in a console, game, or accessory are the names you would expect. There are no big surprises here, but these are the names you should check out for the greatest deals during Black Friday:

• Amazon(opens in a new tab) — This massive online retailer is always a hit on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and it should probably be your first option when it comes to gaming deals. You can find absolutely everything on the site, and the Amazon Gaming Store simplifies the process of finding the greatest deals.

• Argos(opens in a new tab) — Probably won’t have the range of deals that the likes of Amazon and Currys will offer, but you can often find gems on Argos. We recommend keeping a close eye on Argos if you’re looking for deals on the Nintendo Switch and accessories.

• CD Keys(opens in a new tab) — This is normally the greatest spot to find deals on gaming subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus memberships. We can’t make any promises for this year, but we would be shocked if CD Keys didn’t drop some decent deals to keep you occupied over the Christmas holidays.

• Currys PC World(opens in a new tab) — Currys PC World normally offers genuine competition to Amazon when it comes to gaming deals, and offered a wide range of deals on consoles in 2021. We’re expecting more of the same in 2022, so it’s always worth comparing prices between Currys and the other leading retailers at this time of the year.

• Game(opens in a new tab) — We saw plenty of great discounts from Game in 2021, and there are likely to be a lot more in 2022. Game’s greatest deals generally tend to be bundles, and with next-gen releases, most retailers will be looking to clear old stock.

• John Lewis(opens in a new tab) — This might not seem like the most obvious place to find gaming deals, but there are always plenty of offers to consider on consoles, controllers, games, and more. It’s also a good spot to find deals on virtual reality and PC gaming products, with lots of laptops on offer.

There are going to be absolutely loads of deals elsewhere, but you are going to save yourself a lot of time and energy by prioritising these sites.

What were the greatest gaming deals in 2021?

Last year, bundle deals offered the greatest opportunities to save. With next-gen consoles getting all the attention, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a massive increase in bundle deals this year, as retailers look to clear old stock. That means you should be able to stock up on previous-generation games and consoles for less in 2022.

Amazon also offered reduced prices on gaming memberships and physical editions of games, and Argos reduced the price of PSt and Xbox Series X bundles. Currys and John Lewis also offered deals on bundles, alongside savings on VR bundles, gaming laptops, and gaming headsets. 

We can’t predict exactly what will happen this year, but if you want to keep track of all the greatest gaming deals, you should bookmark this page. We will be feeding you all the greatest deals throughout Black Friday, so you can walk away with the biggest discounts on everything on your wishlist.