Steam Summer Sale 2016 start date, news: Sale could run until Independence Day; Steam Summer Sale games revealed?

Valve has yet to announce the start and end dates for this year's hotly anticipated Steam Summer Sale, but a leaked message may have already revealed the dates to eager fans.

A screenshot of the leaked message, which may or may not have come from Valve, was recently uploaded to the /r/Stream thread on Reddit by Redditor McFreemanBBQ. According to the screenshot, the Steam Summer Sale 2016 could begin as early as June 23 and end on July 4.

The alleged Valve announcement also indicated the exact start and end times for the annual event. According to the message, which was marked "confidential," the Steam Summer Sale begins at 9:45 a.m. PST on June 23 and closes at 10 a.m. PST on July 4. In the screenshot, the dates and times were in Cyrillic, but because Steam is an international software distribution platform, the start and end times were given in Pacific Standard Time.

It is not known if the screenshot posted by McFreemanBBQ comes from a legitimate source.

Nonetheless, the Redditor apparently has a history of providing accurate insider info on Steam events. According to VG 24/7, McFreemanBBQ correctly predicted the start and end dates for the 2015 Steam Summer Sale, as well as other sales held by Steam.

Following the alleged leaked screenshot, gamers are waiting for other leaks from more reputable sources. In 2015, PayPal accidentally announced the date for the 2015 Steam Winter Sale ahead of Valve's confirmation of the event. According to Polygon, the online payment company inadvertently shared a promotional image that indicated the start date for the sale, informing gamers about the event prior to Valve's announcement.

While the message in the Reddit screenshot was titled "Event: Summer Sale 2016 Discount Approvals," it did not include a list of the specific games that will be offered during the much-anticipated Steam Summer Sale.

Nonetheless, according to Christian Daily, the Steam Summer Sale could include popular games such as "Watch Dogs," "NBA 2k16," "Resident Evil HD Remastered," "Gone Home," "Infamous: Second Son," "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture," "Psychobreak," and "The Evil Within."