Steam increases game prices by up to 4298% in some countries
On November 20, Valve began charging in US dollars on Steam in Argentina and Turkey, while prices have been adjusted in other countries in Latin America and Africa. For players in countries such as Germany, this means that buying games via VPN at the lower prices in these countries is less worthwhile, while some games have become unaffordable, especially for buyers from Argentina.
Developer and gamer @LegonTW has broken down some of the biggest price changes in Argentina (in the X post embedded below). According to the post, Civilization VI now costs US$59.99 instead of the equivalent of US$1.13, corresponding to a price increase of 4298%. Stardew Valley, Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 5 and Raft are now also 2,000% more expensive. In other cases, games have became cheaper, especially if developers had already included a considerable surcharge to compensate for inflation.
En efecto compatriotas. Steam nos rompió el orto sin vaselina ni aceite de girasol. pic.twitter.com/8xPvX5xU3V
— Legon (@LegonTW) November 20, 2023
The reason why this has resulted in such massive differences is that Argentina saw inflation of 142.7% in October. Steam customers on Reddit are calling this "the end of Steam" for customers from Argentina and Turkey. Valve has justified this change by stating that US dollar prices would offer developers more security and also save on costs by not having to constantly adjust prices to reflect rapidly changing currency rates.
Developers still have the option of setting lower price in these countries than in the US. However, this has to be adjusted manually, so it could take a while before new, adequate price levels are established for games in Argentina and Turkey.
Source(s)
Valve | Reddit | @LegonTW (X)
