I’ve been using Steam ever since Valve strong-armed people into installing it to play Half-Life 2 way, way back in the day. While many people were peeved that this storefront was a requirement to play their new game, I took to it rather quickly, though it wasn’t until much later that I’d purchase my first game. Since then, my library has grown to monumental -- even unmanageable -- proportions.

Through steep discounts provided by Steam sales and Humble Bundles, I’ve thrifted my way to a dragon’s hoard of digital games. Almost every sale, I open up my wallet and suck another handful of games into my perpetual backlog. Maybe I’ll get around to playing them one day. At last count, my statistics show each game has somewhere better than a 50/50 chance of that!

But when a sale rolls around, how do I keep track of what games I’m going to soak up and which I’m going to pass on? By keeping an ever-growing wishlist.

If you’ve never used a wishlist before, the concept is simple. If you see a game you like but have too little money or too much self-control to immediately purchase, you have the option to add it to a wishlist. This wishlist not only helps you keep track of what games you’ve been salivating over, but also sends you alerts whenever one goes on sale. You always know that one of Steam’s big sales has launched because you’ll get an email that says “102 items from your wishlist are now on sale!”

Wishlists also help you keep track of games that are coming soon. See something on Steam that isn’t out yet but you want it the instant it is? It can be difficult to keep track of every indie game coming down the pipe, especially when a release date might not be established yet. Add it to your wishlist to keep track of it. You’ll even get alerts to your email when it hits the storefront.

You can even add DLC to your wishlist. Maybe you’re burnt out after playing the full game and can’t stomach any more chapters of gameplay, your wishlist is a great way to keep tabs on that particular game until you get the itch to jump back in. Or maybe you just want to wait until a sale rolls around to expand your favorite game, you’ll get alerts about that too.

For the frugal of forgetful gamer, there’s no greater tool than the Steam wishlist. It’s the perfect way to stay up to date on the games you want, but either can’t afford yet or just aren’t willing to commit it to your backlog. It’s a great way to curate the store, building a personalized collection of games that you know you’re interested in.

I love the Steam wishlist. It’s a simple feature that helps out in so many ways. Now, if only I could add Half-Life 3, everything would be right in the world.

 

Ready for the next addition to your Steam Wishlist? Add Bite the Bullet Today!

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