By Andrew Dodson on November 4, 2013 at 3:04pm
Gabe Newell's birthday is November 3rd, but I can imagine that he's had better days. While it may just be a rumor, apparently an email was leaked by a Steam-game developer which reveals the start and end dates for the Autumn and Holiday Steam sales at the end of this year.
According to the email, the Autumn sale will begin on November 27th and run until December 3rd and the Holiday sale will start a few weeks later on December 19th and go until January 2nd. Also in the email, it states that they plan to use the same discounted price for game during both sales.
It is popular belief (on Reddit) that the email was leaked from a Russian game developer that has a page in the Steam Shop and a game that has been Greenlit.
The Autumn and Holiday sales are things that everyone expects from Steam, they happen every year. So it's unclear exactly what the reaction will be from Valve if these dates are correct. As of the writing of this article, there has been no statement. They could just roll with it, and suffer the loss of sales during non-discounted weeks. They could tweak the dates so they happen earlier or later. They could make the sale shorter. Or, they could be a Grinch and just cancel the sales all together, effectively ruining the entire holiday season.
Whatever happens, Steam is sure to adjust the process in which they discuss Steam sales with developers to prevent such leaks in the future.
Source Email Reddit
