The Steam Autumn Sale has sparked discussions among players about "buying games but not playing them." Some continue to purchase games during the sale, causing their unplayed backlogs to grow; others feel that discounts on common older titles are no longer as attractive as they once were.
Some players joke that they look forward to buying games they may never play. Another explanation is that unstarted games always retain an idealized sense of anticipation, which may not hold up once actually played. For some players, the act of buying and collecting games offers a different kind of enjoyment than completing them.
Others suggest organizing wishlists and installing only one or two games at a time to prevent the accumulation of unplayed titles. Regarding discounts, some veteran players believe they have already purchased older games that frequently see steep price cuts, while new releases rarely go on sale. The repeatedly low price of "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" was cited as an example; in contrast, the store page for "Factorio" states that there are no plans for price reductions in the near future.
The mechanism of awarding one trading card for every $10 spent during the sale is also seen by some players as an incentive to make additional purchases. Server congestion on the first day of the sale even led to some payment failures.