Valve's new payment method stops players buying cheaper Steam games

Valve has clamped down on savvy shoppers and made it much harder to change your Steam country and make the most of its deals. Valve's new payment method is a blow for gamers who like to shop around and get the most bang for their buck when buying PC games. 

VPNs will no longer trick Steam

The change was spotted by Steam Database, which confirmed a purchase must be completed in the currency of the country the store is in. This means VPNs won't be able to trick Steam into thinking you're not in your own country.

Previously, you could head into your Steam wallet and change your currency if you were in a different country, however, the VPN trick has been used for a long time to bypass the system. Well, it used to be!

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While Valve has long banned VPNs hoodwinking the store in its terms and conditions, that hasn't stopped many players exploiting the loophole. Despite threatening a ban for trying to change your country, some regularly use VPNs to grab some pretty tasty gaming deals. Now, Valve's new payment method has ruined the party.

Only recently, the issue reared its head when Steam users flocked to the Argentinian store to pick up a bargain basement copy of Horizon Zero Dawn. Valve quickly realised there could be an issue and hiked the price in line with sales in the United States.

Posting on Twitter, one disgruntled fan said Valve's currency tactics are nothing new. @montana_steel wrote, "Reminder that some games are marked up by dozens of percents even compared to US prices which are considered the standard, if not outright remove the option to purchase, something steam hasn't addressed years after the change".

Back in 2017, Steam introduced local currency support for 11 new countries. It's all well and good, but with reports claiming most of those currencies had a default price around 30% lower that the US, there was some serious backlash against Valve's pricing system.

It makes sense that Valve wants to support those in poorer countries, but can you really blame gamers who want to search for the best deal? Either way, it looks like those days of pretending you live in Columbia to grab a cheap copy of Final Fantasy XV are long gone.

Now, you'll have to book a flight.