Black Friday is the hottest sale of the year, but many retailers have kicked off the fun early – including Amazon, whose Black Friday sales bonanza begins today.
That means bargains on just about everything, including consoles, headsets, keyboards, mice and just about everything else gaming-related – but with so many to choose from, how can you find the genuinely good discounts? That’s where we at Tech Advisor come in.
Here’s our guide to getting the most out of Black Friday gaming deals, no matter if you’re a console or PC gamer. We’re all equal here.
Best Black Friday gaming deals
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1. Vive Cosmos Elite
Now: £649 (£250 off)
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If you’re a PC VR purist, the Vive Cosmos Elite is a solid option complete with SteamVR tracking, boasting compatibility with a range of SteamVR accessories beyond those on offer from Vive. It’s down to just £649 this Black Friday, offering a £250 saving. Find out more in our Vive Cosmos Elite review.
2. Oculus Quest 2 + £50 Voucher
Now: £299.99
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While there isn’t any money off the Oculus Quest 2 headset, those that buy the headset from Amazon in the UK an get a £50 Amazon voucher – just in time for Christmas! Those in the UK have to select the Special Offer beneath the price (it can be hard to spot!) while those in the US can get a $50 Oculus Store using code OCULUS50. If it sells out at Amazon, you can get a £50 Oculus Store card with purchases from Currys and John Lewis.
4. Razer Iskur Gaming Chair
From: eBuyer
Was: £349.98
Now: £279.99 (£70 off)
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eBuyer is offering one of the best gaming chair deals available right now, slashing £70 off the RRP of the Razer Iskur gaming chair, featuring built-in lumbar support, 4D armrests, high-density foam and a pleather finish – all you need for a comfy gaming session.
5. HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1
Now: £64.99 (£60.01 off)
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The HyperX Cloud Revolver 7.1 offers high-end specs, including a stereo-grade sound stage, 7.1 virtual surround sound, a USB audio control box and a durable steel frame, ideal for PC gamers. At almost half price at Currys, it’s a bargain.
6. Logitech G502 Hero Special Edition
From: Amazon
Was: £79.99
Now: £33.99 (£46 off)
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Sporting Logitech’s top-end HERO 25K sensor, 11 programmable buttons, adjustable weights and, of course, built-in RGB lighting, the G502 Hero Special Edition is a capable gaming mouse with a serious discount.
7. Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Nintendo Switch Online (3 Months)
Now: £259.99
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Nintendo is bundling the Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and 3 months of Nintendo Switch Online for just £259 – the RRP of the console alone. It’s a fantastic deal that’ll likely sell out very quickly, so you’ll have to be fast! It’s also available via ShopTo on eBay at the same price, and there’s limited stock in-store at Tescos at an even cheaper £239.99, but availability varies from store to store.
8. HyperX Alloy Elite 2 mechanical gaming keyboard
Now: £89.99 (£30.01 off)
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Boasting a stainless steel frame, LED backlighting and HyperX’s own proprietary switches, this is a steal for less than £90.
9. Xbox One X Project Scorpio Edition (1TB, Refurbished)
From: musicMagpie (via eBay)
Was: £449.99
Now: £255 (with code) (£194.99 off)
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It might not be the Xbox Series X, but the Xbox One X is still a capable 4K games console and, crucially, it’s the limited Project Scorpio Edition only available when the console first launched. It’s refurbished, rather than new, but musicMagpie claims it has been “fully tested and restored to factory settings by our in-house technicians”. To get the discount, make sure you enter MAGPIE15BF at checkout.
12. Turtle Beach Stealth 700x Gen 2
Now: £109 (£10 off)
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Get £10 off the latest in the Turtle Beach Stealth range. The 700x Gen 2 offers wireless audio performance with both Xbox and PC, as well as standard Bluetooth for smartphone connectivity.
13. Xbox Wireless Controller
From: 365Games
Was: £54.99
Now: £49.99 (£5 off)
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Get a £5 discount on Microsoft’s latest Xbox wireless controller, offering easy switching between console, PC and smartphone, along with textured grips, a 3.5mm headphone jack and all the other bells and whistles of the Xbox controller.
Are Black Friday gaming deals real?
People have become less trusting of Black Friday over the past few years, and it’s not hard to see why. While some retailers offer genuinely great deals, others simply raise the price of products in the run-up to Black Friday to drop them back down to the same level and make them appear like a good deal.
So, when it comes to Black Friday gaming deals, you’ll have to have your wits about you.
With that being said, there are some great gaming deals to be had on Black Friday. Previous years have seen retailers offering discounted bundles on consoles like the PS4, Xbox One and Switch, pairing the console with games and other accessories – perfect if you’re new to a platform.
There were also discounts on consoles themselves, especially Microsoft’s Xbox One S, though the Nintendo Switch didn’t drop in price. We expect much the same this year, especially considering Nintendo recently dropped the RRP of the standard Nintendo Switch to £259 in the UK (though not in the US).
You’ll likely find deals on the last-gen PS4 and Xbox One as retailers try and shift remaining stock, but if you were hoping to find a deal on the next-gen PS5, Xbox Series S|X or even the new Nintendo Switch OLED, you may be disappointed.
The new consoles are in hot demand, so much so that retailers can’t get enough stock to sell to consumers at full RRP, let alone at a discounted price. Next-gen bundles could be a possibility, but like with the consoles themselves, they’ll sell out very quickly so you’ll have to be fast if you spot one.
It’s not all about consoles on Black Friday though; you’ll also find heavy discounts on games, controllers, headsets and other accessories that’ll improve your gaming experience.
Of course, there’s also the other side of gaming to consider: PC.
Much like with consoles, there will likely be deals on pre-built gaming PCs sporting the latest components for a great gaming experience on any budget. In fact, it’ll likely be the only way you’ll get your hands on a PC with an Nvidia RTX 30 Series or AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics card, as the ongoing stock shortage means PC retailers are prioritising PC builds overselling the components individually.
With the current situation expected to extend well into 2022, don’t expect deals on graphics cards this Black Friday. In fact, if you see them anywhere near RRP and in stock, that’ll be impressive enough!
Where to find the best Black Friday gaming deals
So, where can you find these great gaming deals as they arise? We’ll be rounding up the best early Black Friday gaming deals below, but if you want to look yourself, the first stop should be retailers themselves.
The key retailers that offer the best Black Friday gaming deals tend to be GAME, Amazon, John Lewis, Argos and Currys, Newegg, Best Buy and Walmart as well as the likes of the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store if games are what you’re after. There are also PC specialists like Overclockers UK and Box that offer tempting PC gaming deals.
There are also third-party tools that you can use to not only discover new deals, but verify that the deal you’ve found is genuine.
If community-sourced deals are your thing, HotUKDeals is a great start. You can set up alerts for specific products and you’ll only be notified once deals are getting a lot of attention. There’s a rating system that’ll let you know at a glance whether a deal is good or not, and the comment section will mention any issues with the deal.
If you’re an Amazon shopper, CamelCamelCamel is your friend. You can search either by product name or Amazon URL and look up the price history over the past year or so. It’ll also show you at a glance its highest and lowest price ever, so you’ll know if you’re getting a good deal or not.
PriceSpy is another worth a mention, comparing deals from all the major retailers on a product-by-product basis to provide a good overview of current prices right now. What’s marked as a Black Friday deal on one site may actually be cheaper on another.
