Xbox just kicked off a huge 'Beyond Black Friday' game deals sale in time for Christmas and holiday gift-giving — but there's one weird catch

One of the best times to pick up new video games to play is the annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales event that rolls around after American Thanksgiving each year, as everything from beloved classics to the latest and greatest titles get massive limited-time discounts. This year's holiday deals craze was no different — but for Xbox console and PC players, there are now even more savings to be had.

That's thanks to the "Beyond Black Friday" sale that Microsoft's gaming brand just kicked off, which features a veritable ocean of releases across Xbox and PC that all have significant price markdowns. Most of these discounts fall in the 20-60% range, but some are particularly huge and give players 75%, 80%, or even 90% off.

There is a catch, though, and it's a bit of a weird one: only DLCs, expansions, and add-ons are included in the sale, which means you won't be finding the base, full versions of games in the event's offerings. That's a shame, though perhaps Microsoft will hold a separate holiday sale with full game deals a bit later in the month.

Regardless, don't let that caveat sway you from perusing the sale's list of available deals, of which there are pages upon pages. I spent some time skimming through them before writing this article, and there definitely some killer markdowns here to take advantage of — assuming you own the games they're for, or can at the very least play them through an Xbox Game Pass subscription.

For example, all the expansion content for the big Assassin's Creed games released in the past 10 years, including Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, and Mirage, is discounted very heavily. Mirage's add-ons are on sale for 60% off, while Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla expansion content is discounted to an even steeper 85-90% off.

Another Xbox game with dirt-cheap DLC as a result of the new sale is Destiny 2, Bungie's live-service space fantasy FPS that's been running since 2017. It's been struggling to maintain an engaged player base recently, but it's absolutely worth checking out when its older expansions — normally priced at $20-30 — are currently selling for just a few dollars each.

You can even get the Ultimate Edition of the Year of Prophecy, a $100 bundle that includes both of Destiny 2's new 2025 expansions The Edge of Fate and Renegades along with some bonus content, for just $60. 2024's $30 The Final Shape DLC is also down to $10.49.

With all of these deals together, you can get access to everything Destiny 2 presently has to offer for just under $85, which is a ridiculously good deal. Doing so normally would cost several hundred dollars, so whether you're a new player that wants to pick up all the expansions or a longtime one looking to snag whatever you're missing, definitely take advantage of these discounts while they're around.

Speaking of the limited-time nature of these deals, something important to note is that this sale will only be active until December 17. Therefore, if you spot a discount you want to pull the trigger on, make sure you do so before then, lest you miss your chance to score the DLC you want for a rock-bottom price.

All in all, it's always nice to see awesome game deals around, even if it's strange that Xbox only has expansions and add-ons on sale. If there's a DLC you've been hoping to pick up cheap — or one you'd like to gift to a friend or loved one for a game they like to play — comb through the Beyond Black Friday list and see if it's marked down.

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