Can I play a game bought in another region?

[SucculentChineseMeal]

I lived in Hungary during my life, but since February I have been living in Russia. I want to change my region to Russia to buy games here, and after some months when I finish work I will return to Hungary. Do I have to change regions twice? Can I play the game in Hungary which I bought in Russia after I return?

[Ogami]

You have multiple options.

A: You can keep your store set to Hungary, will still work while in Russia and you can use your old payment options and such.

B: You can switch store to Russia which has some conditions. Not bought anything on the store the last 2 weeks, last login from an IP of the region you want to switch to, a legit address of residence and payment method registered to the country . For example, if you have a PayPal account registered to an bank/credit card in Hungary you cant pay with that account if you switch to Russia. You would need a PayPal account registered to a bank/address in Russia.

C: As for games, once you buy a game and its in your library it will lose all region restrictions after 90 days. So if you return to Hungary after those 90 days all games you bought can be downloaded/played like normal.
For games that are newer then those 90 days you wont be able to play them till the 90 days are up.

Hope these info help.

[Wonder waffle]

Originally posted by Ogami:

You have multiple options.

C: As for games, once you buy a game and its in your library it will lose all region restrictions after 90 days. So if you return to Hungary after those 90 days all games you bought can be downloaded/played like normal.
For games that are newer then those 90 days you wont be able to play them till the 90 days are up.

That's too neat to be true. Couldn't find any info about this on steam. Source?

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Wonder waffle:

That's too neat to be true. Couldn't find any info about this on steam. Source?

Well, this thread is from June 2019 so some things might have changed, but it should be covered here :

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1266-QFZC-2141

[Ogami]

Originally posted by Wonder waffle:

That's too neat to be true. Couldn't find any info about this on steam. Source?

Own experience and that of other users who bought games while on holiday in different countries.
Bought at least 30-40 games over the years that were region restricted to the country i was during my holiday. Games did no longer play when i returned home. But 90 days after activating/buying them all the games worked like normal.
Has been that way for some years.

Originally posted by The Giving One:

Originally posted by Wonder waffle:

That's too neat to be true. Couldn't find any info about this on steam. Source?

Well, this thread is from June 2019 so some things might have changed, but it should be covered here :

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1266-QFZC-2141

Not really. Valve never officially wrote down that 90 day rule anywhere.
But its still active since 2015.
Its not as important nowadays since the Steam Store now stays locked to your home country, even if you are in another one. But a few years ago the store changed with your IP.

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Not really. Valve never officially wrote down that 90 day rule anywhere.
But its still active since 2015. Its not as important nowadays since the Steam Store now stays locked to your home country, even if you are in another one. But a few years ago the store changed with your IP.

I did not think so either, but was not sure. Was just letting everyone know the thread was a bit older so some things might have changed, but thanks for the clarification.