For years now gamers have turned to Amazon Prime for their purchases, many in large part because subscribers were given 20% off pre-orders of upcoming titles. This promotion has been changed a few times, such as excluding collector’s editions and physical items like amiibo, but the 20% discount on pre-orders stood for awhile. That will end this month with the program phasing out the discount on August 28th, to be replaced by a $10 promotional credit on select games.
UPDATE: According to an email sent to subscribers, Twitch Prime will also be removing ad-free viewing as a perk soon. New members will not receive the benefit, while current will lose it at their next renewal.
According to the new terms and conditions as laid out on Amazon’s site, Prime members will no longer get the blanket 20% off on new games and pre-orders. Instead many purchases will not receive any benefit, while others will get the $10 credit.
“You will receive an email from Amazon up to 35 days after the qualifying purchase is delivered or made available that indicates that $10 in Amazon promotional credit has been added to your customer account. The email will also provide instructions on how to redeem the promotional credit,” read the new rules.
There was a magical set of a few months where Amazon and rival retailer Best Buy were vying for gamers’ attention by offering these programs. Amazon Prime was one and Best Buy’s Gamers Club Unlocked was another. Both offered discounts on video games, including 20% off of pre-orders and new purchases. Best Buy quietly phased out their GCU promotion a few months ago though, stopping new memberships and renewals but allowing current members to finish out their subscription.
It seems that with Best Buy’s program over Amazon no longer felt the need to push the discount that many had enjoyed. The $10 credit is nice though, so hopefully it will be available on tons of games. If you are a Prime member, you have until August 28th to get your pre-orders in while the discount is still valid.
