Armored Core 6 price increase on Steam might affect its sales

Bandai Namco recently increased prices for some of its games, including the upcoming FromSoftware title, Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon, for certain regions. The sudden price increase comes as a result of the publisher removing regional pricing for many countries, including India, Russia, Turkey, and South America, among others.

At the time of writing this article, Bandai Namco has not given any official statement regarding the sudden price increase for some of their best-selling titles.

The price hike also affects FromSoftware titles, including the 2022 Game of the Year, Elden Ring, as well as the upcoming mech-action game Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon.

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Is Bandai Namco removing regional pricing on Steam going to affect Armored Core 6 sales?

With the removal of regional pricing, games like Elden Ring and Armored Core 6 have received a significant increase in price, with both costing roughly 40-80% extra over their previous retail price on Steam. Regional pricing is one of the biggest aspects of what makes Steam the most preferred platform for PC players.

Regional pricing is also one of the major contributors to making PC games much more affordable than console versions (in certain regions). While Bandai Namco's games rarely complied with the regional pricing regulations on Steam, their recent offerings, including Elden Ring, came as a surprise for many players.

Elden Ring and Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon were both priced according to the suggested regional prices on Steam, making them affordable for many players worldwide. To be fair, the regional pricing had very little to do with the game's rise in popularity and its record-breaking sales.

The game's quality, the amount of content on offer, and an innovative approach to traditional open-world formula made it one of FromSoftware and Bandai Namco's best-selling titles. However, it did make it easier for players to grab a copy for themselves, in turn affecting the game's overall sales.

Here's a look at both the title's prices before and after the recent regional pricing changes:

Elden Ring

• Before: INR 2499 (Standard Edition), INR 3499 (Deluxe Edition)
• After: INR 3599 (Standard Edition), INR 4799 (Deluxe Edition)

Armored Core 6

• Before: INR 2499 (Standard Edition), INR 3499 (Deluxe Edition)
• After: INR 3599 (Standard Edition), INR 4199 (Deluxe Edition)

With this sudden change in pricing, it's very much possible that FromSoftware's upcoming mech-action game's sales will get affected, at least in some regions. There's still a debate on whether the regional pricing is fair, especially with the rising prices of video games and the normalization of $70 titles.

However, regional pricing is what enables many players to get their hands on some of the biggest AAA and indie titles, and taking that away is bound to impact sales for a game. It remains to be seen how this sudden change in pricing affects Armored Core 6's Steam sales when it releases on August 25, 2023.