Valve Updates Regional Pricing Recommendations for Its Video Game Distribution Platform, Everything Likely to Get Expensive in India
Steam is easily the biggest platform for gaming on PC, and has one of the biggest libraries of games in the industry. In recent news, we have learned that Steam has updated their Regional Pricing Recommendation section on their website. Many players have been wondering whether the price for a title will increase or decrease in their region due to the new revamp.
The new section states that developers on Steam have complete control over the prices of their titles, but they have understood that providing ideal prices in different currencies can be a challenge for many. To help with this issue, Steam will provide a service where they will recommend you the pricing that should be set for a specific currency according to the USD price chosen by the developer.
Steam has updated their recommended prices for game developers, we have a list of all the changes in a new blog post: https://t.co/9BQ6YKgYfG
— SteamDB (@SteamDB) October 25, 2022
They have also explained the method of how they determine the regional prices, as it cannot be done just by using the exchange rates for different currencies. Steam has stated that metrics such as purchasing-power parity and consumer price indexes also come into play when determining these prices. Developers are also allowed to complete ignore the recommended prices and go for their own pricing instead. Out of all the currencies, the following will stay unaffected by the changes:
- CIS – U.S. Dollar
- Costa Rican Colon
- Israeli New Shekel
- Kuwaiti Dinar
- Singapore Dollar
- South Asia – USD
- U.A.E. Dirham
— SteamDB (@SteamDB) October 25, 2022
Through these new pricing recommendations, it appears that Indian customers will be seeing a massive increase in their pricing. Through the post above, players will see that $59.99 was previously priced at INR 1,299, but now it will be priced at INR 2,400. This is an 85% increase and stands at the fourth spot of highest price points, with Argentine Peso, Turkish Lira and Kazakhstani Tenge taking the top 3 spots respectively.
