How to Change Your Steam Region and Get Cheaper Games?

The largest and most imposing digital gaming platform, Steam, offers an extensive library of games and software. However, changing your Steam region can drastically improve the experience. Namely, Steam libraries differ from country to country, same as Netflix does. Some games won’t be available in specific countries.

Also, due to regional differences, some Steam regions are cheaper than others. Regarding special deals and discounts, some libraries are far better, offering you a chance to save loads of money. However, many find that the Steam country change process is difficult. First, you can change your Steam region once in three months.

Second, you can’t do it without altering your IP first. In this article, we’ll explain how to do this in detail, plus see how to get cheaper games.

How to Change Your Steam Region?

Okay, so we’ll start with the guide so that we can immediately explain the workaround. As said, you can alter your region once every three months, but to make it work, you need to provide a payment method from the new country. That’s a problem for many.

If you change your Steam store country to, let’s say, Italy, you must have a credit card from this country. Otherwise, you won’t be able to buy any games. This is great if you have a friend or a family member abroad willing to give you their payment information. If not, the Steam region change process will fail.

We have a solution for that, in the form of Steam gift cards that work well for purchasing games without using an actual payment method. For now, let’s shift our attention to changing your Steam country with a VPN.

Setting Up a VPN

To get this thing working, you’ll need an IP address from the country whose store you want to use. You can change your IP with a VPN service such as NordVPN, which offers over 128 countries on the list. This VPN is also gaming-friendly thanks to fast speeds and uncapped and unthrottled bandwidth.

Change Your Steam Region With NordVPN

The first step is to set it up, which is simpler than you’d assume. You can subscribe to this service through Gizmodo and get exclusive discounts on its 2-year or 1-year plans. 2-year plans are recommended for their 70-plus percent price reduction, so they’re better. Once you subscribe to the VPN, install it on your device.

After that, open the app and sign in with your credentials – email and password.

With the app opened and ready to use, we’ll perform another step before changing our Steam region. We’ll connect to a server in the country we want to use later. Let’s say we want to use Turkey, which, according to many, is one of the cheapest Steam countries.

We’ll open the server list in NordVPN, find Turkey, and click on it to connect. Setting up a VPN is fairly simple, so even non-rocket scientists are welcome to try.

Modifying Your Steam Store Region

It’s time to change your Steam store region. We’ll assume you already have this app installed, so after connecting to a VPN server, open it up and sign in. From here, follow these elementary steps:

1. In the store, find the game or app you want to buy and add it to the cart.
2. Visit your cart and instead of selecting “Continue to Payment,” click your country.
3. In the drop-down menu, you’ll see the new country – for us, it’s Turkey.
4. Click on the new country, and when prompted to convert your store and wallet, confirm the new billing address.

   

5. Press “Continue to Payment” now.
6. In the new menu, provide credit card information from the new country and click Continue.
7. When the purchase is complete, the Steam region change process is done. Beware that you can do this once every three months, so don’t rush your decision.

How to Buy Steam Games Without a Credit Card?

Most people who want to modify their Steam region don’t have a corresponding payment method, or in this case, a credit card. In that scenario, the only workaround you can try is a gift card, which you can find online on many third-party websites. The key to making it work is to buy a gift card for your new Steam region.

If the new region is Turkey, which was our example, buying a gift card for the US region won’t do you good because you won’t be able to activate it in the Turkish region. Here’s a guide to using a gift card to buy games after changing your Steam country:

1. Go to any third-party website that sells Steam gift cards. Some of them are Eneba, G2A, GG Deals, and many more.
2. Find the gift card for your region and buy it.
3. Make sure to copy or write the gift card code down on a piece of paper.
4. Connect to a VPN, as explained in the previous tutorial.
5. Go to Steam and sign in.
6. In the upper-right corner, choose “Games” and press “Redeem a Steam Wallet Code.“
7. Paste the code from Step 3 and click on “Continue.“

Your wallet should be topped up now and ready to be used to buy games or software.

Can I Change My Steam Region Without a VPN?

In recent years, this platform has made the process of altering your store location quite complex. Without using a VPN, it’s even harder because you have to rely on Steam’s customer support. Now, VPNs have many benefits, and one of them is a swift location change.

On top of that, NordVPN is risk-free and has a 30-day money-back guarantee. This is ideal to test the solution and be refunded if you no longer need it. If this doesn’t work for you, you can try going the customer support route. It’s slower and not guaranteed to work. You can ask Steam’s customer service to change your Steam region.

Our experience implies that waiting times are quite long, so after you send the message, expect the answer in a few days or a week. Beware that you’ll need to provide a reason for your country change request and proof that you’re in another country. This proof is usually a government-issued ID or payment method.

If you don’t have any, the support team won’t alter your Steam country. You can opt for free VPNs instead, but with so few countries on offer, chances are you won’t find the location you need. That said, after experimenting and chit-chatting with our experts, we concluded that using a VPN is the best and most effective way.

Of course, a surefire way to do this is to pack your bags and travel overseas, but altering your country on Steam surely isn’t a good enough reason to do this.

Is It Legal to Change My Steam Country?

One thing we haven’t discussed yet is the legality of modifying your store location. It’s technically legal because you won’t end up in jail or be fined. However, after exploring Steam’s terms and conditions, we found something that will spike your interest.

The platform forbids IP-changing software because it’s often abused to get cheaper games and bypass certain geo-blocks. While unblocking restricted sites usually isn’t illegal, accessing restricted content on Steam goes against its terms and conditions.

This begs one vital question – can your account be banned? YES!

If the platform catches you using a VPN to buy cheaper games, you can be permanently banned. This means you have to create a new account, as you’ll lose all your funds, achievements, games, etc. For this reason, Gizmodo isn’t fond of such methods.

We respect Steam as an awesome game store, and we’re against any form of illegal activities or those that directly infringe its terms and conditions.

Steam Country Change Not Working: What to Do?

If you’re facing issues with this straightforward process, it can be because of:

• The VPN you’re using
• Inability to provide a payment method from another country

The first problem can be rectified by using a better VPN. We listed the best overall VPNs here, but if you want VPNs specifically for this cause, consider NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Private Internet Access. We reviewed them below and explained why they’re great.

The second problem is typical for people who change their Steam region. If you want to use an existing account, this step is mandatory. However, if you don’t have many achievements and/or games and don’t care particularly about the account, you can make a new one.

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We think this is infinitely easier and has better chances of working. Bear in mind that making a new account still requires a VPN connected to the country you want to use. To simplify things, here’s a short step-by-step guide on how to make a new account on this platform:

1. Connect to a VPN server.
2. Go to this page to register a new account. You’ll notice that the Country of Residence will be automatically set to the country selected in the VPN. Keep it that way.
3. Provide your email and password and press Continue.
4. After verifying your account through email, the process will be complete.
5. Open Steam, sign in with the new account, and you’re done.

This way, the account will immediately be based in the new country, and you’ll have a clean slate. If you mourn your previously owned games and software, sign out, go back to your original account, and enjoy them. That’s the only way.

Best VPNs to Alter Your Steam Store Region

Gamers can vastly benefit from a VPN service. Apart from using another PSN country or changing your region on this platform, you can enjoy:

• Anti-DDoS protection
• Ability to get cheaper deals
• ISP throttling prevention
• Playing on more distant game servers, …

Such advantages are obtainable from some of the most reputable services that consequently work well for this case. They include:

1. NordVPN

NordVPN was our #1 from the get-go. It offers 128+ countries and will likely expand its server network soon. This is great if you want ample locations for this purpose or to bypass geo-blocks and unblock a world of new content. Its significant features impress most people.

For example, it’s one of the safest VPN providers you can use across all devices. Gamers will be happy with its Xbox and PS support that allows for secure gaming on the couch. NordVPN’s 10 simultaneous connections are also valuable, as they protect multiple devices at a time. This VPN’s browser extension is another selling point.

It allows for location spoofing and overcoming geo-blocks in an instant. Additionally, the NordLynx protocol offers amazing speeds, more than enough for playing fast-paced shooters with added protection. NordVPN doesn’t skimp on privacy.

A no-logging policy is in place, plus RAM-only servers to prevent any unwanted “residue” in terms of user data from accumulating. This provider is the best option in general, as it offers torrenting VPN servers to anonymize P2P traffic. With its obfuscation, it also works in China.

This makes it great for censored regions where Steam may be unavailable. With it, you can unblock this client, download your games, and play them freely. NordVPN has 24/7 support to aid you if things go wrong. However, as seen earlier, this provider’s ease of use and effectiveness are undeniable.

Besides, it has a 30-day money-back guarantee plus a 7-day free trial that you can claim and test for free. Not sure how? Read our NordVPN free trial guide for more info.

Visit NordVPN

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2. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a great VPN for everything – privacy, safety, gaming, streaming, you name it. Simultaneously, it’s amazing for Steam country changing because it has servers in 105 countries, with many city-level servers for added location accuracy. In total, we’re looking at way over 160 locations.

ExpressVPN is a gamer’s best friend for no lag and encrypted connections. Its powerful encryption with a kill switch prevents data leaks and thus ensures no DDoS attacks come your way. Its performance is also to be admired. It’s a tad slower than NordVPN but still mighty fast.

The Lightway Turbo protocol does wonders stability-wise, so expect a gaming experience worth reimagining. ExpressVPN’s clients are dead simple to use, which is why we love them. Simply install the app, use the connection button, and you’re set. This applies to all of the supported devices.

Better yet, ExpressVPN offers free-to-use VPN apps for Mac computers and other devices based on Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and so forth. Like NordVPN, it’s a no-log service with the utmost focus on privacy. However, its price is a bit of a surprise, as it’s higher than NordVPN and PIA.

Gizmodo lets you drop it significantly with a 73% discount, thanks to four free months for its biennial Basic plan. This is the cheapest deal, as well, but you can explore the Advanced plan at 68% off to get more simultaneous connections and advanced ad, tracker, and malware protection

Visit ExpressVPN

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3. Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access isn’t always our go-to choice for gaming. On the other hand, it’s a security and privacy beast, with a certified zero-log policy and top-of-the-line encryption. It’s still a mighty provider to change your Steam country, with 30,000+ servers globally.

Like the other providers, it has around 90 countries, so you’ll be spoilt for choice. Private Internet Access uses WireGuard to power your connections. This is great if you aim for reliable performance and stable connections for gaming, torrenting, or streaming.

The provider also has an ad blocker called MACE, which many appreciate. If you like more advanced stuff, consider its MultiHop function. It’ll double your encryption and turn you into an untraceable ghost online. Shadowsocks is also here for added obfuscation. This is helpful in censored regions, schools, or workplaces to unblock Steam.

We value its unlimited simultaneous connections because they let you protect all your devices with one account. PIA is the value king, offering flagship-level qualities. We accentuate its value because of its low prices. Its 2-year plan is on a flashy sale with two free months and a monthly price of around $2.20.

Don’t think this provider isn’t risk-free! You still get a 30-day refund policy and the option to obtain a free trial for 7 days.

Visit Private Internet Access

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The Bottom Line

If you want cheaper games, access to restricted content, or better discounts, changing your country on Steam is the only way. Using a VPN like NordVPN is beneficial to ensure you’re doing it safely and have many countries to pick from.

However, the solution isn’t without its flaws, with Steam’s anti-VPN terms and conditions. Using a VPN to protect your privacy or prevent DDoS attacks is perfectly fine and won’t result in a ban. Buying games for a lower price is a different story. Whatever lies behind your desire to alter your Steam region, we get it.

Now that you know how to make everything work, do it, but at your discretion. Gizmodo doesn’t condone illicit activities or going against Steam’s terms and conditions.

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FAQ

What are the cheapest Steam regions?

These include Brazil, Argentina, India, and Turkey. Some of the most expensive regions are the USA, the UK, and Canada. If you want to access the cheapest stores, you’ll need a VPN and a payment method from the appropriate countries.

Is Steam available in all countries?

Pretty much. The only regions where it’s unavailable are China, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Iran, and Cuba. If you find yourself there, you can use a VPN to unblock this gaming service.

Do I need a VPN to change my Steam country?

Yes and no. Yes, if you want to access a specific store because of cheaper prices and better game libraries. No, if you’re moving to another country and plan on using its library. Just provide a payment method from that country and enjoy.