Wube (Factorio) is selling keys cheaper on their website. Illegal?

[Flocc]

I'm from Poland. I have a better deal if I buy Factorio (and it's an upcoming DLC) from factorio.com, not from the Steam Store.

In almost every thread (on their forum as well) about prices, people suggest buying via website. <><

Isn't it illegal?

===
Steam Key Rules and Guidelines

You should use Steam Keys to sell your game on other stores in a similar way to how you sell your game on Steam. It is important that you don’t give Steam customers a worse deal than Steam Key purchasers.

source: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/keys

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

It's not illegal, no.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

It's not illegal, no.

:nkCool:

They aren't even directly selling Steam keys. They are selling a direct download from their website. Once you 'upgrade' your accounts(which is what the purchase does) you can request a Steam key as well as you have the download directly from the website.

Seems like a fun little loophole.

Wait, it isn't even cheaper on the website. On Steam and the website it is $35.

[Flocc]

It is nearly 15% cheaper for me to buy via their website. 160 PLN = 37.19 euros vs 31.94 (site)

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by Flocc:

It is nearly 15% cheaper for me to buy via their website. 160 PLN = 37.19 euros vs 31.94 (site)

They still aren't selling Steam keys with the purchase of their website. You can request one after purchasing off their website but it isn't sold to you with the purchase.

The clause you cited applies to selling Steam keys for cheaper.

Also, is the price you listed on Steam including tax?

[Galileus]

Originally posted by Flocc:

It is nearly 15% cheaper for me to buy via their website. 160 PLN = 37.19 euros vs 31.94 (site)

They sell the game at their site for 30€. They sell the game on Steam for 30€.

Steam is setting Polish prices to be more expensive.

Steam is breaking Steam rules.

Steam needs to sue Steam.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by Ass Blaster:

Originally posted by Flocc:

It is nearly 15% cheaper for me to buy via their website. 160 PLN = 37.19 euros vs 31.94 (site)

They sell the game at their site for 30€. They sell the game on Steam for 30€.

Steam is setting Polish prices to be more expensive.

Steam is breaking Steam rules.

Steam needs to sue Steam.

Steam doesn't set the prices of any game.

[Kargor]

Also, in general, keep in mind that the price parity for selling Steam keys does not apply to sales.

This doesn't apply here, though. The way I read this, you're merely looking at different exchange rates.

[Wolfpig]

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Also, is the price you listed on Steam including tax?

Prices in Europe usually always contain taxes already.


No idea which country the dev is in and which their default set currency is, but i would guess that price differences to steam might be because of currency conversions with rates of the current day.

And depending from/to which currency it goes it could be cheaper or cost more.

[Galileus]

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Originally posted by Ass Blaster:

They sell the game at their site for 30€. They sell the game on Steam for 30€.

Steam is setting Polish prices to be more expensive.

Steam is breaking Steam rules.

Steam needs to sue Steam.

Steam doesn't set the prices of any game.

No, like I said, WUBE set those.

Steam sets regional pricing recommendations.

Factorio follows Steam's regional pricing recommendations.

Steam's price recommendations suggest to price the game more than 100% of the base price in Poland.

WUBE does so with Factorio.

It's easy to disagree with this, I do, but it's rather hard to make the case of WUBE breaking the Steam rules by following Steam recommendations for pricing.

[RiO]

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Originally posted by Ass Blaster:

They sell the game at their site for 30€. They sell the game on Steam for 30€.

Steam is setting Polish prices to be more expensive.

Steam is breaking Steam rules.

Steam needs to sue Steam.

Steam doesn't set the prices of any game.

Afaik you can configure Steam to automatically update regional pricing using USD as a fixed point - meaning in a roundabout way, they could indeed be setting the regional prices.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by RiO:

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Steam doesn't set the prices of any game.

Afaik you can configure Steam to automatically update regional pricing using USD as a fixed point - meaning in a roundabout way, they could indeed be setting the regional prices.

Which a developer is free to manually adjust the price afterwards or manually set it beforehand.

[Galileus]

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Originally posted by RiO:

Afaik you can configure Steam to automatically update regional pricing using USD as a fixed point - meaning in a roundabout way, they could indeed be setting the regional prices.

Which a developer is free to manually adjust the price afterwards or manually set it beforehand.

But they would be goign against guidelines then.

So either they go against gudelines or they go against the guidelines.

Do you really not see the point here?

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by Ass Blaster:

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Which a developer is free to manually adjust the price afterwards or manually set it beforehand.

But they would be goign against guidelines then.

So either they go against gudelines or they go against the guidelines.

Do you really not see the point here?

No they wouldn't.

Devs are free to adjust regional pricing manually.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Ass Blaster:

Steam's price recommendations suggest to price the game more than 100% of the base price in Poland.

What? https://steamdb.info/sub/88199/

[Galileus]

Originally posted by Boblin the Goblin:

Originally posted by Ass Blaster:

But they would be goign against guidelines then.

So either they go against gudelines or they go against the guidelines.

Do you really not see the point here?

No they wouldn't.

Devs are free to adjust regional pricing manually.

That's why those are guidelines, not hard requirements.

They are free to do wahtever they want with prices, but it will still go against the guidelines.

It will really not hurt you to admit that. It's not an attack on Steam or Valve. You do not need to clutch your pearls. It's just a weird little paradox, is all.

When you get to a point where your point is that "going against guidelines is not going against guidelines because guidelines are just guidelines"... it's time to re-evaluate, man.