Steam is reportedly limiting region switching to stop people buying games cheaply

Valve has reportedly implemented new Steam measures designed to stop users exploiting regional pricing.

Steam users can now change the country where they live just once every three months, according to SteamDB.

“In a further crack down on people buying games in cheaper regions, Valve added a limit on how often you can change your Steam account’s country,” it tweeted.

“Country may not be updated more than once every 3 months. Purchases can be completed using a payment method from your current region.”

The official Steam Store Country support page doesn’t currently mention a limitation on the number of times users can change their country.

Users have been required to use a local payment method to make purchases since July 2020.

The latest changes to Steam user account settings have reportedly been implemented ahead of the anticipated launch of the Steam Summer Sale later today.

According to SteamDB, Valve will launch the Steam Summer Sale at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm UK. It is expected to run until the same time on July 8.

Further reading

Valve and 5 Steam publishers have been fined €7.8 million for anti-consumer practices

European Commission takes action after companies restricted cross-border sales

In January 2021, the European Commission fined Valve and five publishers of Steam games €7.8 million ($9.4m) for anti-consumer geo-blocking practices, which restrict access to content or products based on which country a person is in.

Earlier this week Valve wrapped up Steam Next Fest, a week-long digital event offering access to hundreds of PC game demos.