Xbox Announces Start Date And First Five Deals For The Countdown Sale 2025

We've still got one more massive Xbox sale to come before the end of 2025! Microsoft has confirmed today that the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025 will officially start on Thursday, December 18th, and it'll include over 1,000 games in all.

The company has also revealed the first five deals for the Countdown Sale, although as usual they're quite a bizarre selection that almost certainly won't represent the peak of what the sale has to offer.

Here are those first five deals:

• Save up to 30% on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 – Cross Gen
• Save up to 20% on ARC Raiders
• Save up to 20% on Ready or Not: Digital Deluxe Edition
• Save up to 25% on Minecraft (plus $5 gift card offer on PC)
• Buy EA Sports or 2K Sports titles and get $5 and $5 in-game

Microsoft also says you can "get up to 60% off" various games during the Xbox Countdown Sale, but the biggest discounts always turn out to be 90% or even 95% for certain titles.

We'll be able to see the full selection of 1,000+ games when the Xbox Countdown Sale begins on Thursday, and there's every chance the deals will start showing up late on Wednesday as well. Bring on the final big Xbox sale of 2025!

What are you hoping to see in the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025? Tell us in the comments below.