Steam's Global Pricing Shift: Valve Abandons Regional Currencies In 27 Countries

Valve Corporation is discontinuing the practice of region-changing tactics for Steam gamers who seek lower prices on game keys. These game keys are single-use, unique, alphanumeric codes customers activate on Steam to add a product license to their account.

The company will no longer support regional currencies in countries such as Turkey and Argentina, shifting to U.S. dollar-based pricing starting in November 2023.

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This change will affect 27 countries, potentially causing price increases or decreases in response to exchange rate fluctuations, Insider Gaming reported.

"Exchange rate volatility in Argentina and Turkey in recent years has made it hard for game developers to choose appropriate prices for their games and keep them current," Valve explained on the Steam Support Platform. "We have heard this loud and clear in our developer meet-ups and round table chats."

The move to the U.S. dollar aims to enhance stability and consistency for both players and partners while enabling various payment methods. In-game transactions will also transition to the U.S. dollar, and active subscriptions in local currencies will cease, requiring users to resubscribe at new U.S. dollar-based rates.

In 2022, Valve made adjustments that led to price spikes of up to 450% for some games, creating confusion among consumers.

Here's the full list of affected countries:

Central America

• Belize
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama

South America

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Ecuador
• Guyana
• Paraguay
• Suriname
• Venezuela

Middle East

• Bahrain
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Oman
• Palestine
• Turkey
• Yemen

North Africa

• Algeria
• Libya
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Sudan

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Photo: nikkimeel on Shutterstock.