Why a −90% discount isn't always a deal

A −90% badge triggers something ancient in the brain. It shouldn't. On modern storefronts the percentage is a marketing asset, not a price fact — and the difference between the two costs players real money every sale season.

The anchor price trick

A discount is only as honest as the price it's measured against. If a game's list price was quietly raised before the sale, the percentage inflates while the real price stays flat. If a game spends 40 weeks a year discounted, the list price is fiction — the "sale" price is the price.

Here's the same discount seen through three different lenses:

The middle row is the counterintuitive one: a modest −50% can be a better deal than a screaming −90%, because the only number that matters is the price versus its own history.

Three checks before you buy

• Is it at or near its historical low? If not, the next sale is usually within eight weeks.
• How often is it discounted? A game that's always on sale will be on sale when you actually want it.
• Is the price trending down? A two-year-old game stepping down each season will be cheaper by winter — unless it's already at the floor.

Applied to a real case — Cyberpunk 2077 has been through every phase of this lifecycle, and its current state is the good one:

The embed above does all three checks automatically: current price against typical price against the recorded floor. If the verdict line says "good price", the sticker percentage is finally telling the truth.