Steam launches massive holiday sale, servers falter

The details of Steam's annual holiday sale and its ridiculously generous freebies will excite you so much that you'll join the queues of people hammering "refresh" on the service's unsurprisingly hammered storefront.

The sale has kicked off and runs through January 1, with massive discounts on pretty much everything, including some breathtakingly thrifty bundles and the usual insane daily deals.

This year's promotion has players scoring free games and gifts for participating each day, all drawn from the Great Gift Pile. Every day, a new set of objectives will be announced; Just signing in now that the sale has started nets you a present.

Completing objectives will grant you either a sweet freebie or a lump of coal. If you collect seven lumps of coal, you an trade them in for a free gift, and never receive another piece. Alternately, you can hold onto your coal - every piece is an entry into the Epic Holiday Giveaway on January 2.

The Epic Holiday Giveaway will award one lucky winner with the entire Steam catalogue. Every. Single. Game. Consolation prizes include wish list fulfilment and Valve Complete Packs.

Naturally all this awesomeness has drawn a lot of attention, and while things have improved in the last few hours, Steam is still a little patchy - so be patient and check back later if you have trouble.