Gaming in the UK is one of the most expensive hobbies you can have, especially if you’re someone who always stays on top of the newest releases. Slowly but surely, the RRP of most new games on consoles has been rising beyond the £40 it used to be to £55 and even £60 (Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2 spring to mind). This unofficial hike has made staying on top of everything a total wallet consumer.
However, if you’re a UK gamer, there are still plenty of cheap places where you can buy physical copies of PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch games below the typical asking price that you will find at somewhere like GAME or Amazon. Savvy shoppers may already be familiar with the below sites, but for those not in the know, consider yourself informed and your bank balance saved.
1. ShopTo
ShopTo is a bizarre but wonderful website that sells video games at cheap prices but also bikes, because why not. They are almost always cheaper than anywhere else with only the absolute biggest hits costing you over £40 to buy. You can also save a huge amount of money with repeated purchases thanks to their membership program, which can give you up to 5% off anything on the site.
Also, whisper it, but sometimes they send out games a day or so before release. Not bad, especially with free shipping.
If there are to be any criticisms of ShopTo, the main one has to be the navigation. Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, it can be difficult to know what belongs where, which makes browsing a little more complex and stilted that it needs to be. It’s also weird that most releases are £_.85 instead of £_.99, but that’s just a silly nitpick.
2. The Game Collection
A very underrated online store, The Game Collection has a great layout and, most importantly, good deals on games in the UK. There are a million and one filters that you can use to help you find a game, and while it generally isn’t quite as cheap as ShopTo for new releases, there are plenty of incentives to check The Game Collection out.
Just like ShopTo, The Game Collection also give their regular customers points to use for savings on new releases. Free delivery is another a great perk for this cheap games UK service, and for those who don’t mind waiting around a while, new releases tend to drop in price quite quick on The Game Collection. At this time of writing, Left Alive and its £49.99 RRP is available for £32.95, though that may still be too steep.
The only real drawback is that the website can be a bit unreliable at times. We’ve not been able to access our accounts on a couple of occasions and had disappearing baskets, but those are ultimately two small complaints.
3. Base
Compared to the previous two UK based online stores, Base lags slightly behind in terms of deals on cheap games; AA titles are under £40 on most occasions but the biggest boys go for around £45. In addition, they don’t have any kind of rewards program, so there isn’t quite as much incentive to keep returning to them.
However, their website is incredibly easy to sift through and they always have decent deals on games that aren’t brand new. At this time of writing, Ni No Kuni II could be yours for a tenner and Hitman 2 will set you back just £20. Free delivery is also a nice perk, as is the navigation and simplicity of browsing.
With five stars across the board on Trustpilot, there’s a reason why Base, who have been around since 2001, have managed to last the distance.
4. PriceSpy
PriceSpy isn’t the same as the UK game stores we’ve mentioned so far in that it isn’t actually a store at all, more of an aggregator for the best deals. If you’re a savvy saver, the amount of data and tools this gives to you might be the dream.
Users are able to browse by price range, genre, and a million other things to find the right game. Once you start investigating, PriceSpy brings up plenty of different retailers with the pricing history also a great asset to see the trend; you will notice that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been dropping slightly since launch and can now be picked up by £35 quite easily. In addition, you can make an account to stay notified of price drops and even download a mobile app.
However, it must be noted that PriceSpy doesn’t always keep abreast of every price fluctuation and change in its index, so when you do click on something from PriceSpy and land on the selected store, don’t be surprised to see it’s not the same price as you thought. PriceSpy also uses affiliate links, so bear that in mind if that’s something you are typically against.
5. HUKD
HUKD (hotukdeals) is an aggregation site with a twist: all of the game deals you find have been curated by the community. And they’re very active and frugal to boot, almost always delivering the freshest deals as they drop.
The community votes on deals to dictate their value, so you will almost always find some excellent prices right away. They even sometimes have retail store prices (if you can make the trip) and also highlight free game deals and betas. In addition, the community also highlights how you can save money digitally by swapping your region for storefronts such as the PlayStation Store.
HUKD Gaming is probably the most useful tool out there for saving money as a gamer in the UK. However, it can also be a little messy to browse at times; there’s just a lot going on when you make a visit.
MORE GAMING:
– The Best Games of 2019
– The Best PS4 Games You Should Own
– The Best Xbox One Games You Should Play
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