# CheapShark Game Deals Scraper (`crawlerbros/cheapshark-scraper`) Actor

Find the cheapest PC game deals across 30+ digital stores including Steam, GOG, Epic Games, Humble Bundle, and more powered by the free CheapShark API. Filter by price, Metacritic score, Steam rating, and store.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/cheapshark-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, E-commerce, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## CheapShark Game Deals Scraper

Find the cheapest PC game deals across **30+ digital stores** — including Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, Humble Bundle, Fanatical, GreenManGaming, and more — powered by the free [CheapShark API](https://www.cheapshark.com/api).

No account, no API key, and no proxy required. Works on the Apify free plan.

***

### What It Does

- **Search deals** — browse current game sales sorted by deal rating, price, savings, or recency
- **Filter by store** — narrow down to Steam, GOG, Epic Games, or any supported store
- **Filter by quality** — set minimum Metacritic score and Steam user rating thresholds
- **Look up games** — search games by title or fetch by CheapShark game ID
- **List stores** — enumerate all supported digital storefronts with logo/icon URLs

***

### Use Cases

- Monitor game prices across multiple stores and track when your wishlist hits target prices
- Build a game deal newsletter or price tracker
- Aggregate PC gaming market data for analysis or research
- Find the cheapest deal for a specific game title across all stores

***

### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `mode` | select | `deals` | What to fetch: `deals`, `games`, or `stores` |
| `searchQuery` | string | — | Game title to search for (deals and games modes) |
| `sortBy` | select | `DealRating` | Sort order: DealRating, Price, Savings, Reviews, Release, Store, recent |
| `storeId` | select | All | Filter to a specific store (Steam=1, GOG=7, Epic=28, etc.) |
| `onSaleOnly` | boolean | false | Only return games currently on sale |
| `aaaOnly` | boolean | false | Only return AAA (major release) games |
| `steamworksOnly` | boolean | false | Only return Steamworks DRM games |
| `minMetacritic` | integer | — | Minimum Metacritic score (0–100) |
| `minSteamRating` | integer | — | Minimum Steam user rating percentage (0–100) |
| `maxPrice` | number | — | Maximum price in USD |
| `gameIds` | array | — | CheapShark game IDs to look up directly (mode=games) |
| `maxItems` | integer | 50 | Maximum number of records to return (1–5000) |

***

### Output Fields

#### Deals Mode

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `dealID` | string | CheapShark deal identifier |
| `title` | string | Game title |
| `salePrice` | number | Current sale price in USD |
| `normalPrice` | number | Normal (non-sale) price in USD |
| `savings` | number | Discount percentage (0–100) |
| `dealRating` | number | CheapShark deal quality score (0–10) |
| `metacriticScore` | integer | Metacritic critic score (if available) |
| `steamRatingPercent` | number | Steam user rating percentage |
| `steamRatingCount` | integer | Number of Steam user reviews |
| `steamRatingText` | string | Steam rating label (e.g. "Overwhelmingly Positive") |
| `storeName` | string | Name of the store offering this deal |
| `storeID` | string | CheapShark store identifier |
| `gameID` | string | CheapShark game identifier |
| `steamAppID` | string | Steam application ID (if applicable) |
| `thumb` | string | Thumbnail image URL |
| `isOnSale` | boolean | Whether the game is currently on sale |
| `releaseDate` | string | Game release date (ISO-8601) |
| `lastChange` | string | When the deal was last updated (ISO-8601) |
| `dealURL` | string | Direct link to purchase the deal |
| `scrapedAt` | string | Timestamp when the record was scraped (ISO-8601) |

#### Games Mode

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `gameID` | string | CheapShark game identifier |
| `title` | string | Game title |
| `steamAppID` | string | Steam application ID (if applicable) |
| `thumb` | string | Thumbnail image URL |
| `cheapestCurrentPrice` | number | Cheapest current price across all stores |
| `cheapestStore` | string | Store offering the cheapest price |
| `cheapestDealID` | string | Deal ID for the cheapest offer |
| `cheapestDealURL` | string | Link to the cheapest deal |
| `deals` | array | All current deals per store (storeID, storeName, salePrice, normalPrice, savings, dealRating, dealURL) |
| `scrapedAt` | string | Timestamp when the record was scraped |

#### Stores Mode

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `storeID` | string | CheapShark store identifier |
| `storeName` | string | Human-readable store name |
| `isActive` | boolean | Whether the store is currently tracked |
| `bannerUrl` | string | Store banner image URL |
| `logoUrl` | string | Store logo image URL |
| `iconUrl` | string | Store icon image URL |
| `scrapedAt` | string | Timestamp when the record was scraped |

***

### Sample Output

#### Deal Record

```json
{
  "dealID": "mVmQKDBGeyGd4iyNbfMV3LD6PJRPQ9cGLCNv0OKFLV4%3D",
  "title": "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt",
  "salePrice": 9.99,
  "normalPrice": 39.99,
  "savings": 75.02,
  "dealRating": 9.5,
  "metacriticScore": 92,
  "steamRatingPercent": 97.0,
  "steamRatingCount": 500000,
  "steamRatingText": "Overwhelmingly Positive",
  "storeName": "Steam",
  "storeID": "1",
  "gameID": "12345",
  "steamAppID": "292030",
  "isOnSale": true,
  "releaseDate": "2015-05-18T00:00:00+00:00",
  "lastChange": "2023-11-14T22:13:20+00:00",
  "dealURL": "https://www.cheapshark.com/redirect?dealID=mVmQKDBGeyGd4iyNbfMV3LD6PJRPQ9cGLCNv0OKFLV4%3D",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-05-23T10:00:00+00:00"
}
```

***

### FAQ

**Does this require an API key or account?**
No. The CheapShark API is completely free and public. No registration required.

**How many stores are supported?**
CheapShark tracks 30+ PC digital stores. Use `mode=stores` to get the full list with logos and active status.

**How current is the pricing data?**
CheapShark updates prices regularly. The `lastChange` field on each deal indicates when it was last refreshed.

**Can I monitor price drops for specific games?**
Yes — use `mode=games` with a title search or `gameIds` to get current prices across all stores for specific games.

**What does `dealRating` mean?**
CheapShark's proprietary score (0–10) that factors in the discount percentage, historical pricing, and review scores to rate how good a deal is.

**Can I filter by multiple stores at once?**
Currently CheapShark's API supports single-store filtering. Use `mode=deals` with `storeId` empty to search all stores and post-filter locally.

**Why are some fields missing on certain records?**
Fields like `metacriticScore` and `steamRatingPercent` are only available when the game has been reviewed. Records with no data for a field will simply omit that field.

**Is there a rate limit?**
CheapShark does not publish a rate limit. This scraper adds small delays between pages and retries gracefully on any 429 responses.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

What to fetch: search deals, look up games, or list stores.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Game title to search for (applies to deals and games modes).

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Sort order for deals results.

## `storeId` (type: `string`):

Filter deals to a specific store. Leave empty for all stores.

## `onSaleOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return games currently on sale (discount > 0%).

## `aaaOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return AAA (major release) games.

## `steamworksOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return games that use Steamworks DRM.

## `minMetacritic` (type: `integer`):

Only include games with at least this Metacritic score (0–100).

## `minSteamRating` (type: `integer`):

Only include games with at least this Steam user rating percentage (0–100).

## `maxPrice` (type: `number`):

Only include deals at or below this price in USD.

## `gameIds` (type: `array`):

CheapShark game IDs to look up directly (mode=games only).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of records to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "deals",
  "sortBy": "DealRating",
  "storeId": "",
  "onSaleOnly": false,
  "aaaOnly": false,
  "steamworksOnly": false,
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `deals` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped game deals, game records, or store listings.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "deals",
    "searchQuery": "",
    "sortBy": "DealRating",
    "storeId": "",
    "onSaleOnly": false,
    "aaaOnly": false,
    "steamworksOnly": false,
    "maxItems": 50
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/cheapshark-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "deals",
    "searchQuery": "",
    "sortBy": "DealRating",
    "storeId": "",
    "onSaleOnly": False,
    "aaaOnly": False,
    "steamworksOnly": False,
    "maxItems": 50,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/cheapshark-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "mode": "deals",
  "searchQuery": "",
  "sortBy": "DealRating",
  "storeId": "",
  "onSaleOnly": false,
  "aaaOnly": false,
  "steamworksOnly": false,
  "maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/cheapshark-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,crawlerbros/cheapshark-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/1h09unjnNZWAybbGx/builds/TYcBCCzoJd8CeNxWt/openapi.json