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The weekend’s best deals: Epic PC games sale, 1Password subscriptions, and more – Ars Technica

The weekend’s best deals: Epic PC games sale, 1Password subscriptions, and more

Ars Technica

It’s the weekend, which means the time has come for another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web is headlined by a truckload of discounts on good PC games. Most of those are due to the return of the Epic Games Store’s annual “Mega Sale,” which began earlier this week and runs until June 16.

As with previous promotions from Epic’s PC game storefront, the new sale is most notable for offering an unlimited-use coupon that applies to any purchase of $14.99 or more. In past sales, this coupon amounted to a flat $10 off, but Epic says it will now give a 25 percent discount. This means you won’t save as much as before on less-expensive games—a $15 game that would’ve dropped to $5 after applying the coupon in previous sales will now cost $11.25—but you’ll get slightly more back with games closer to full price. For instance, a newer game like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which normally goes for $50 on PC, can be had for $37.49 after using the coupon here.

You’ll have to sign into an Epic account and manually claim the coupon first, but once you do, it will automatically renew after each use until the sale ends next month. Note that you only need to have at least $14.99’s worth of games in your cart for the coupon to apply: Something like Disco Elysium, an Ars favorite that’s on sale for $14, wouldn’t be eligible for the extra 25 percent off on its own, but if you add another discounted game to your cart to get over the $15 threshold, the coupon will then apply to both titles individually at checkout. As with past Epic sales, the coupon doesn’t apply to DLC or in-game purchases, nor will it work with preorders.

Since the coupon stacks on top of the sale’s ongoing discounts, many of the prices here are lower than what we’ve seen in sales from competing storefronts like Steam or Humble. So, to help you find a good deal once again, we’ve sorted through the entirety of Epic’s selection to pick out the discounts that we think are most worth your attention.
You can find our full list of picks below, but some highlights include new lows on the Ars-approved Zelda-like Tunic, the satisfying roguelite Rogue Legacy 2, and other generally well-regarded 2022 games like the kung fu brawler Sifu and the aforementioned LEGO Star Wars. The PC ports of blockbusters like Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, and Death Stranding are as cheap as we’ve seen, and several smaller-scale games we like are at lows or near-lows as well. Epic says it will also continue to dole out a free game each week as part of the sale; to start, that is Borderlands 3. If you don’t see a game you want in our roundup, we recommend using a price tracking site like IsThereAnyDeal to ensure you’re getting a genuine discount.

If you can’t bear to add any more games to your backlog, our roundup has plenty more deals of note, including discounts on the handy password manager 1Password, Hulu subscriptions, AirPods, an excellent LG OLED TV, recommended board games and microSD cards, and more. You can find our full roundup below.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Featured deals of the day

The latest set of AirPods could be worthwhile if you want the usual iPhone-friendly conveniences of Apple's true wireless earbuds and better-than-usual sound from an open-back design.
Enlarge / The latest set of AirPods could be worthwhile if you want the usual iPhone-friendly conveniences of Apple’s true wireless earbuds and better-than-usual sound from an open-back design.

Jeff Dunn

Electronics deals

The 6th-generation Apple iPad mini is the best small tablet for most people.
Enlarge / The 6th-generation Apple iPad mini is the best small tablet for most people.

Andrew Cunningham

Laptop and desktop PC deals

The LG C1 is last year's model, but its vibrant OLED panel is still excellent, which makes it a worthy option at its current deal price.
Enlarge / The LG C1 is last year’s model, but its vibrant OLED panel is still excellent, which makes it a worthy option at its current deal price.

LG

TV and home entertainment deals

It's not ideal for board-gaming newbies, but <em>Terraforming Mars </em>is a deep, and deeply replayable, card-drafting game <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/12/best-board-games-buying-guide/6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we recommend</a>.
Enlarge / It’s not ideal for board-gaming newbies, but Terraforming Mars is a deep, and deeply replayable, card-drafting game we recommend.

Gaming deals

For better or worse, Seagate's SSD expansion cards are the only official way to increase the storage of your Xbox Series S or Series X for current-gen games.
Enlarge / For better or worse, Seagate’s SSD expansion cards are the only official way to increase the storage of your Xbox Series S or Series X for current-gen games.

Video game deals

<i>Tunic </i>takes its cues from classic <em>Zelda </em>games—not just in how it looks and plays, but also in the sense of wonder and discovery it frequently evokes.
Enlarge / Tunic takes its cues from classic Zelda games—not just in how it looks and plays, but also in the sense of wonder and discovery it frequently evokes.
<em>LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga</em> is a silly and accessible send-up of the nine mainline <em>Star Wars</em> films, with more open levels and a metric ton of collectibles that make it surprisingly large in scope.
Enlarge / LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a silly and accessible send-up of the nine mainline Star Wars films, with more open levels and a metric ton of collectibles that make it surprisingly large in scope.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

The recently released <em>Rogue Legacy 2 </em>provides a satisfying roguelite loop.
Enlarge / The recently released Rogue Legacy 2 provides a satisfying roguelite loop.
<em>Final Fantasy VII Remake </em>reinvents both the gameplay and narrative of the original PS1 classic.
Enlarge / Final Fantasy VII Remake reinvents both the gameplay and narrative of the original PS1 classic.
We named the challenging yet heartfelt platformer <em>Celeste</em> the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/12/ars-technicas-best-games-of-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best game of 2018</a>.
Enlarge / We named the challenging yet heartfelt platformer Celeste the best game of 2018.

Accessories and miscellaneous deals

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