Amazon Prime users now get 20% off pre-ordered and newly released games

Amazon has just announced that all Prime members will now get a 20 percent discount on video games before they are released and for two weeks afterwards.

So if you’ve been toying with the idea of setting up an Amazon Prime account, now might be a good time.

The reduction can only be applied to physical games so you can’t use it with any bundle deals, but it does work on limited and special edition copies, which can often be quite costly. The discount will show up as soon as you’ve popped the game in your shopping cart.

Amazon already offers Prime members free delivery on release day for pre-ordered games, so the discounts just sweeten the deal. On top of gaming discounts, Prime members get access to Amazon’s video and music streaming services, as well as Prime photos.

BestBuy and Game have similar offers for their respective members, like discounts on pre-orders and preference on limited stock, but neither are as consistent with discounts as the new deal that Amazon is offering.

Gaming is an expensive hobby, so this discount could have the $99 Prime membership fee effectively paid back by the time you’ve got five titles.

However, getting a game on the day it’s released isn’t always the most pleasant experience. Plenty of games get rushed to release and then you end up contending with delayed features, bugs and the need for multiple patches.

A good example of this was the release of Assassin’s Creed Unity, which shipped with countless glitches, with Ubisoft forced to publicly apologize. More recently Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 game was virtually unplayable when it was first released.

So in parting with your $99 in exchange for that 20 percent sweetener, you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the potential frustrations.

➤ Prime exclusive savings [Amazon]