The Steam Summer Sale is here

Steam has announced the start of its ~~dreaded~~ legendary Steam Summer Sale, which will run from 19 to 30 June 2014.

As is now custom with these sales, users can vote on which games will go on sale and earn Summer Sale trading cards by doing so. Game purchases will also earn users trading cards.

These cards can be collected to form a full set and then redeemed for a shiny Steam badge and profile XP – ultimately meaningless, but Valve knows all too well how gamification incentivises sales.

Throughout the sale users will be challenged to craft badges to earn in-game items, community and team rewards, and win free games.

Pretty much the entire Steam catalogue will be discounted throughout, with a selection of titles going through a heavy discount rotation every 24 hours – so choose wisely!

Some of the standout deals on day 1 include:

Far Cry 3 for $7.49.
The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition for $3.99.
Day Z for $25.49
XCOM: Enemy Unknown for $8.49.

In keeping with our GIF theme of sharing our feelings about the Summer Sale, please enjoy this bird. Feel free to post your own GIF in the comments and forum, after you have bought your games, of course.