Every game has a price. We work out the per hour.
Honest UK prices, value maths and subscription costs, so your money goes on the games you'll actually play. ▮
Our rule of thumb: under £1/hr = bargain, £1–£3 = solid, over £3 = pricey per hour. It's a guide, not a verdict on fun.
The value board
Lowest UK RRP divided by estimated hours. Lower is better value. Ranges, because your hours are your own.
| Rank | Game | Lowest RRP | Est. hours | £ per hour | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Stardew Valley | £10.99 | 45–200h | £0.05–£0.24 | |
| 02 | Vampire Survivors | £3.99 | 10–60h | £0.07–£0.40 | |
| 03 | Minecraft | £29.99 | 15–300h | £0.10–£2.00 | |
| 04 | Balatro | £12.79 | 5–120h | £0.11–£2.56 | |
| 05 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | £49.99 | 30–400h | £0.12–£1.67 | |
| 06 | Baldur's Gate 3 | £49.99 | 75–200h | £0.25–£0.67 | |
| 07 | Hollow Knight: Silksong | £16.75 | 25–60h | £0.28–£0.67 | |
| 08 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | £59.99 | 50–250h | £0.24–£1.20 | |
| 09 | Hades II | £24.99 | 20–70h | £0.36–£1.25 | |
| 10 | Elden Ring | £49.99 | 30–130h | £0.38–£1.67 |
What the subs really cost
Every tier's UK price, the cheapest way to pay, and when a subscription beats buying games outright.
PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Plus comes in three tiers, and the gap between paying monthly and paying yearly is bigger than most people realise. Here are the UK prices as listed on playstation.com on 3 November 2026, what each tier actually adds, and a plain way to work out whether it beats simply buying the games you want.
Xbox Game Pass
Game Pass now has four plans, and they changed price twice in the space of a year. Here are the UK monthly prices shown on xbox.com on 3 November 2026, what each plan includes according to Microsoft, and the sums to run before you sign up.
Nintendo Switch Online
Nintendo Switch Online is the cheapest of the big console subscriptions, and the family plan can split across up to eight Nintendo Accounts. Here are the 12-month UK prices on Nintendo's site on 3 November 2026, what the Expansion Pack adds, and how to work out the cost per person in your house.
EA Play
EA Play is the cheapest publisher subscription on this site, and many people already have it without knowing, because it's bundled into some Game Pass plans. Here are EA's own UK prices on 3 November 2026, what the two tiers include, and whether paying for it separately makes sense.
Ubisoft+
Ubisoft+ has two tiers, and one of them is already bundled inside other subscriptions. Here are Ubisoft's UK prices on 3 November 2026, the difference between Classics and Premium, and how to avoid paying twice for the same games.
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade is a single-tier subscription with a feature parents tend to like: Apple says its games have no ads and no in-app purchases. Here are Apple's UK prices on 3 November 2026, how Family Sharing changes the per-person cost, and where Apple One fits in.
Pay less, legally
Sale seasons, refunds, and the maths behind subscribing versus buying.
UK game sale calendar 2026–2027: Steam dates and console sale patterns
Timing a purchase is the easiest legal way to pay less for a game. Valve publishes its Steam seasonal sale dates well in advance, so those are listed here exactly as announced. PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo don't publish a calendar ahead of time, so for them we describe the usual patterns and label them clearly as not announced.
Ways to pay less for games in the UK (all legal, all official)
There is no trick to cheap games, just a handful of habits that add up: try before you buy, time your purchase, share what you already own, and only subscribe when the maths works. Everything here uses official stores and features. No grey-market key sites, which can leave you with revoked keys and no support.
Game refunds UK: Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Apple and Google
Each store has its own refund rules, and they differ more than most people expect: one gives you two hours of play, another loses your right the moment the download starts. Here's what each official policy said on 3 November 2026, plus the UK consumer rights that apply to faulty digital content.
Subscription or buy? How to decide, with the UK maths worked through
A subscription is good value when you'd play enough of its library to beat what you'd otherwise spend buying games. That sounds obvious, but the numbers are rarely run. Here's a five-step method and a worked example using UK prices checked on official pages on 3 November 2026.
Insert coin: quick answers
What does "quid per hour" mean?
It is the price of a game divided by how many hours you are likely to play it. A £40 game you play for 80 hours costs 50p an hour; a £20 game you finish in 5 hours costs £4 an hour.
Where do your prices come from?
UK RRPs from official stores such as PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Nintendo eShop and Steam, checked on the date shown on each page. Prices change often, so always check at checkout.
Where do the hours come from?
Estimated ranges based on published sources such as publisher statements and community completion-time data, cited on each page. Your hours will vary, which is why every page has a slider for your own numbers.
Do you sell games or earn commission?
No. There are no adverts, affiliate links or sponsored prices on Quidperhour.