Valve will change Steam pricing in Argentina and Turkey, switching game sales in both countries from local currencies (Argentine pesos and Turkish lira) to US dollars. The change is being made to address "exchange rate fluctuations" that Valve says have made it difficult for developers to set and maintain prices for their games.

Steam's regional pricing system has long been controversial. We delved deeply into the "strange economics behind Steam prices around the world" in 2014, and while the world has changed since then, the underlying complexity has not. While regional price fluctuations are based on many factors, the overarching goal is fairness: to ensure that people outside of North America and Western Europe are not forced to pay disproportionate prices for their games.

Exchange rates are a major factor in determining regional prices, and that is where the switch to US dollars in Turkey and Argentina comes in.

"In recent years, the exchange rates in Argentina and Turkey have fluctuated wildly, making it difficult for game developers to choose the right price for their games and keep them up to date," Valve explained, adding that "we have heard these voices at our developer meetings and round tables, We heard these voices loud and clear. Additionally, we struggle to keep the Steam payment method up and running in these countries/regions due to constant currency fluctuations, fees, taxes, and logistical issues," Valve explained.

"By pricing our games in USD for Steam users in Argentina and Turkey, we are able to provide more stability and consistency for our players and partners, and continue to offer a variety of payment methods to Steam users in these countries/regions. We are very pleased to be able to do this."

"Volatility" in this case seems to be a polite way of saying that all of the currencies in question are in freefall. Over the past few years, there have been dramatic devaluations of the Argentine peso and the Turkish lira:

As a practical matter, what this means for developers is that the price they set in March 2023, for example, is now almost meaningless: developers have to keep raising the game as the local currency has lost value. costs must continue to rise. (Valve released a new regional recommended pricing guide for developers in 2022. Most regional recommended prices have increased to some degree: In Canada, for example, the recommended price of a game priced at $59.99 in the U.S. has increased 13% from C$68.99 to $77.99. But the Argentine peso and Turkish lira were outliers: the recommended price for the lira rose 454%, while the price of the peso jumped a staggering 485%.

Argentina and Turkey's switch to the U.S. dollar will be included in a new "regionalized U.S. dollar pricing" block that includes 25 countries across two regions, Latin America and the Middle East/North Africa. Other countries included in the new pricing region did not previously support local currencies. They include:

Central America:

South America:

Middle East:

North Africa:

Valve has stated that prices in some countries switching to US currency will increase, while prices in others may decrease. It is ultimately up to individual developers to set prices on Steam.

The change to U.S. currency will take place on November 20. Steam users in these countries who have money in their Steam wallets will have it converted to US dollars at the current exchange rate. In-game transactions in these regions will also be switched to US dollars, and existing Steam subscription services will continue without interruption, but will need to be renewed in US dollars when the time comes.