Beloved 2025 GOTY Nominee Drops to Historic Low Price
Blue Prince has returned to its lowest recorded Steam price, courtesy of a newly launched 40% discount. The limited-time Steam promo is scheduled to run until early September 2026.
The first-ever title from Los Angeles studio Dogubomb, Blue Prince launched in spring 2025 and quickly became one of the year's critical standouts. It earned an average score of 89 on OpenCritic based on more than 120 reviews, while more than 14,300 Steam user reviews have given it a "Very Positive" rating as of August 2026. Critics and players alike have thus contributed to Blue Prince establishing a reputation as one of 2025's best games.
Blue Prince Is 40% Off on Steam Until September 6
Regularly priced at $29.99, Blue Prince is currently available for $17.99 on Steam, courtesy of a 40% discount that published Raw Fury launched on August 23. Officially labeled a "Special Promotion," the offer runs for two weeks, through September 6, 2026. The sale marks the fourth time Blue Prince has received a 40% discount on Valve's storefront, after first dropping to $17.99 in late May 2026.
Beyond its strong reviews, Blue Prince also made an impact during awards season. It was one of 12 nominees for Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2025 Golden Joystick Awards, where it lost the top prize to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 but won Best Indie Game. It also won the GOTY and Innovation accolades at The Indie Game Awards, plus secured half a dozen other major honors. Blue Prince was also nominated in two indie categories at TGA 2025 but lost both to Clair Obscur.
Understanding the Near-Universal Appeal of Blue Prince
A 'Metroidbrainia' for the Ages
Much of Blue Prince's appeal comes from a structure that resists fitting neatly into any one genre. Its loop revolves around exploring Mount Holly by deciding which rooms appear behind unopened doors, effectively drafting an entire mansion in the process. Each in-game day then resets much of that layout, forcing players to rely on what they have learned as much as what they retain between runs. It's part puzzle game and part roguelite, with some deck-building elements, first-person exploration, and non-linear narrative centered on a compelling mystery. All of those elements blend together into something greater than the sum of their parts, helping Blue Prince evoke that quintessential roguelite urge to play "just one more run."
On a broader level, Blue Prince's mind-bending journey effectively turns knowledge into a form of meta-progression. A failed run can still prove productive if it reveals how two systems interact, adds context to an earlier clue, or gives the player a new theory to test the next day. That structure also helps the game sidestep one of the puzzle genre's oldest problems: getting stuck does not necessarily bring progress to a halt. Instead, players can pursue another thread which deliberately defies traditional puzzle-game conventions, Blue Prince director Tonda Ros told GameRant in early 2025. For Steam users who have yet to experience Mount Holly for themselves, the current $17.99 price makes this as inexpensive a time as any to finally see what all the fuss was about last year.