Amazon Prime’s video game pre-order discount coming to an end

Amazon Prime’s 20 percent discount on game pre-orders will go away on Aug. 28, the online retailer announced. Instead, Prime members will receive store credit as an incentive to pre-order video games through Amazon, marking a major change to one of the membership’s best benefits.

Only pre-orders of “select video games” will come with the $10 store credit promotion, according to Amazon’s terms and conditions for the offer. Once a customer has pre-ordered a qualifying item, they must wait up to 35 days to receive their $10 via email. That credit will only be valid for 60 days after activation.

This is a surprising change to one of Amazon Prime’s biggest benefits for console owners. In January 2016, the company unveiled the discount on both pre-orders and recent game releases — meaning Prime members could regularly get a deal on high-priority, big-budget titles, so long as they bought them early.

Amazon Prime members aren’t alone in losing their savings. Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked, a competing subscription service that came with a 20 percent discount on games, shut down earlier this summer. Best Buy’s remaining membership program, My Best Buy, also gives buyers $10 in credit for pre-ordering certain popular games.