Years ago, Steam implemented a price change to its system that added the Argentinian peso to the payment options available. Doing this allowed most Argentinians to enjoy video games at a rate that is more acceptable for their average income, as their economy has been struggling for a while and to use the United States Dollar as a standard for them is just not a viable way for them to pay.
This system worked well for a while, however as reported by Pcgamer, this price change policy that Steam had has come to an unceremonious end, and the prices for these countries have skyrocketed through the roof, going as high as a 2900% increase for Stardew Valley. Needless to say, the average Argentina resident isn’t going to pay for this, and this price increase from their point of view is absolutely backbreaking.
Not helping are the reports that Argentina also has to pay heavy taxes for their purchases, with this Twitter user receiving a, frankly ridiculous, sales tax, which just adds to the burden that this policy change already heaped onto this player base.
Many are blaming Steam for this situation, and the handling of these prices could fall on their shoulders. However it is important to note that it generally falls to the publisher and/or developer to set the prices in the Steam store, so some of the fault lies at their feet as well.
But regardless of who is to blame for these ridiculous price hikes, the reason for them remains the same: Argentina and Turkey have very volatile currencies, Argentina is going through inflation right now, and the USD just seems like the safest bet when it comes to standardizing prices, but the unfortunate cost of this is obvious.
It’s heartbreaking to see entire regions essentially being locked out of spending their hard-earned money for a simple pleasure like a video game, and while there is likely no easy solution out of this for Steam, game developers, or those in the affected countries, one can only hope that a solution is found but more and more it seems like the solution many effected are turning to online is piracy, a fact which both Steam and publishers are likely going to be unhappy to confront.