Question about ROW versions

[BananaKing]

I live in Ukraine and in future I might emigrate to another country (Canada or USA). With all those Steam regional blocks I have a couple of questions about my future ability to play owned games.

1. Is there a way to check whether a game I own is ROW version or regional?
2. Are all games bought in CIS region labeled as regional or I still can buy some games (older ones) and receive a ROW version?

Example: Splinter Cell is on sale right now and for me it costs $1.49. It's base price (US) is $2.49 (discounted). If I add it to cart it adds package with ID 699. I looked for it on SteamDB[steamdb.info] and it looks like there is only one "Store" version. Does it mean that there is only ROW version (without any regional dependencies) of this specific game and I will receive it?

3. I want to buy ROW versions of games and I'm totally fine with paying full price (not regional) to get the ability to play from anywhere around the world. I know that buying from Humble Bundle and similar authorized stores will give me ROW version in any case and I consider it the best option for now. Is there any other legal options to get a ROW game from my current location? Another option that come to my mind is trading with someone who can buy ROW version but that's the last place I'd want to go.

Thanks to all in advance!

[Ogami]

Small tip, any game you activate on your account becomes regionfree after 90 days.
That is precisely for what you described, if you have to move. So even if you buy all the games now for the cheaper price when you still live in the Ukraince, if you should move someday you can still play those games in another country.

If you want to buy ROW versions just shop in reseller key shops. (the legal ones)
In general those only sell ROW keys. A good site to look is https://isthereanydeal.com/ that lists all authorizes steam key resellers and bundle sites.

[BananaKing]

Thank you for the quick answer! Nice site, didn't know about it, will check.

So basically you mean, that even if I buy a game that is CIS+RU version (Witcher 2[steamdb.info], for example) in 90 days I will be able to play from anywhere but the license in my account will be still showing that I own CIS version? Is it correct even for games where there is explicitly stated that the game can be played only from region of purchase (Skyrim[steamdb.info], for example)?

[Ogami]

Originally posted by BananaKing:

Thank you for the quick answer! Nice site, didn't know about it, will check.

So basically you mean, that even if I buy a game that is CIS+RU version (Witcher 2[steamdb.info], for example) in 90 days I will be able to play from anywhere but the license in my account will be still showing that I own CIS version? Is it correct even for games where there is explicitly stated that the game can be played only from region of purchase (Skyrim[steamdb.info], for example)?

Exactly. I often visit some friends in russia and when im there i buy some cheap retail steam games. I can activate them on my account without a problem since im on a russian ip. When im back in germany those games no longer instal/play with the usual "this game was bought in a different region. Since you are not currently in this region the game cant be installed/played".
But exactly 90 days after activating the game, no matter where i am, the games can be installed and played normally.
Can verify that 100%.

[BananaKing]

Thanks for the confirmation. So the game version is actually doesn't switch to ROW version, but it's just behaves like one. Not bad, but I still interested in answers to my questions about "real" ROW versions.