PC games on Steam are set to become costlier as Valve removes localized pricing: Regions, dates, and more

Steam has been making numerous changes to its digital storefront's pricing across markets around the globe. In the latest decision from the retail games distribution platform owned by Valve, various regions are set to receive further changes to pricing. This means games will get more expensive in some regions, as unveiled by further details on their official Support page.

When do these changes come into effect? Which regions are affected? Here is everything players need to know about updated pricing for various regions.

---

What are the changes coming to Steam regions?

PC gamers are not going to be happy about this one (Screenshot via Steam)

To summarize, starting November 20, 2023, many major LATAM and MENA regions will use USD as the official currency for their regional Steam storefronts instead of local currency. So, in countries where rates have been especially low, like Argentina and Turkey, users will no longer be able to pay in Argentine peso and Turkish lira.

This is a big blow to gamers in these two regions as their economies are not particularly strong. So why did Valve decide to do this now? As per their official statement, developers have been struggling to manage pricing for these regions due to their exchange rates. This measure aims to help them with that. Here is the full statement:

"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. We have heard this loud and clear in our developer meet ups and round table chats. In addition, we have had a hard time keeping Steam payment methods up and running in these countries/territories due to the constant foreign exchange fluctuations, fees, taxes, and logistical issues."

Valve says that pricing games in USD for users in Argentina, Turkey, and other regions will help them provide "greater stability and consistency" for both gamers and publishers. So what are the implications of this? Basically, all local currency will be converted to the USD equivalent on November 20, 2023.

Due to this change, any subscriptions (for games like Final Fantasy 14 Online) will end automatically when their subscription period is over, so players will need to sub again using USD. Microtransactions will also change to USD. With this, on top of unrelated game price hikes, Steam players are bound to express displeasure.

---

All regions affected by the new pricing policy

Valve has released the complete list of all 25 LATAM and MENA countries, which will see USD as the new norm from next month onwards. They are as follows:

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

Players in these regions will certainly not be happy with this drastic change, as it will likely cause game prices to soar even higher (with some exceptions going lower based on exchange rate) than they already are. Here's hoping upcoming Steam sales negate this, but it might not help much.