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Treyzen Aug 26, 2013 @ 10:48am

Region lock

does steam has region lock? i live in Singapore if buy a game in France for example, will i be able to play the games from France in my country? or will steam block the game and i have to buy the game in Singapore?

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Showing 1-13 of 13 comments

Bad 💀 Motha Aug 26, 2013 @ 10:52am

Yes, mostly all digital games are Region based/locked.
Steam detects your Region upon login, so be careful if u travel.
My sister has all her Steam Games from North America, but she is living in South Korea now (for work) and because of that, can't play any of her Steam games.

So if outside of your home country, I would not buy any digital games while in a different country because it most likely will not work when u go back home. Or vice-versa.

Last edited by Bad 💀 Motha; Aug 26, 2013 @ 10:55am

CanisBolt Aug 26, 2013 @ 10:59am

EU don't have a region lock. You can buy games from UK, FR or other European steam store.(Note: Russia and CIS have a region lock). I'm not sure about AU and JP regions.
Keys have a region lock.
For example, Sains Row IV
http://steamdb.info/sub/28362/ - RU/CIS. You can buy and play only in RU/CIS countries
http://steamdb.info/sub/28361/ - ROW. You can buy in most EU countries(also North and South America)
Another Note: If you'll buy game in German Steam Store, you can get a low-violence version(no blood, no dismemberment)

Last edited by CanisBolt; Aug 26, 2013 @ 11:01am

Bad 💀 Motha Aug 26, 2013 @ 11:22am

Like I said; REGION
Not individual Country. Germany is kind of it's own region though when it comes to violent games, due to their restictions on such content.

France is EU and Singapore is ASIA, so I highly doubt they are compatable.

Last edited by Bad 💀 Motha; Aug 26, 2013 @ 11:22am

Treyzen Aug 26, 2013 @ 11:41am

Originally posted by CanisBrian:
EU don't have a region lock. You can buy games from UK, FR or other European steam store.(Note: Russia and CIS have a region lock). I'm not sure about AU and JP regions.
Keys have a region lock.
For example, Sains Row IV
http://steamdb.info/sub/28362/ - RU/CIS. You can buy and play only in RU/CIS countries
http://steamdb.info/sub/28361/ - ROW. You can buy in most EU countries(also North and South America)
Another Note: If you'll buy game in German Steam Store, you can get a low-violence version(no blood, no dismemberment)

what if i buy games from the UK like EA BF Bad Company 2? if i want to buy Bad Company 2 in UK will it still be playable in my country region in South East Asia? or only allowed in the EU?

Ghastous™ Nov 7, 2013 @ 9:46pm

imo the region locking is a disgrace to us gamers as i dont see any problem at all buying a game from another country as its the same game and uses the same program its just steam and publishers being greedy and charging more in some countries then other countries RU for example pays ♥♥♥♥ all for there games and UK ppl have to pay top wack. Games are games no matter where from

Treyzen Nov 28, 2013 @ 9:45am

Originally posted by Ghastous™:
imo the region locking is a disgrace to us gamers as i dont see any problem at all buying a game from another country as its the same game and uses the same program its just steam and publishers being greedy and charging more in some countries then other countries RU for example pays ♥♥♥♥ all for there games and UK ppl have to pay top wack. Games are games no matter where from

what about Consoles? are some consoles region lock too?

Tev Nov 28, 2013 @ 9:50am

Originally posted by Urchin_StormGear96:
Originally posted by Ghastous™:
imo the region locking is a disgrace to us gamers as i dont see any problem at all buying a game from another country as its the same game and uses the same program its just steam and publishers being greedy and charging more in some countries then other countries RU for example pays ♥♥♥♥ all for there games and UK ppl have to pay top wack. Games are games no matter where from

what about Consoles? are some consoles region lock too?

Some Steam games are regionlocked.
https://store.steampowered.com/account
You can see from there what licenses of yours are restricted.
EU = Europe
NA = North America
Asia = Asia
WW = Worldwide
RoW = Rest of the World
etc..

from consoles
Xbox 360 is regionlocked
Wii is regionlocked
PS3 is regionfree
DS is regionlocked
PS Vita is regionfree.

Only with PS3 there is that the DLC has to match the game's region to work, as for Vita - I don't think DLC for another region game will work either way.

Kosmozuikis Apr 20, 2015 @ 10:28am

All the steam gifts bought in cheap regions like CIS, S. America, part of Asia has region locks and can't be even gifted.
Games bought in EU and US does not have any lock (with rare exceptions).
If you buy a key you need to check the region locks on steamdb. For now only the CIS countries have a lock. But it could change upon release so if you pre-order a game by the time you will get your key it could be region locked. So better buy after the release. Of course buying the key from EU or US should grant you a region free key.
I guess region restrictions will be the same as other namco bandai games.

Last edited by Kosmozuikis; Apr 20, 2015 @ 10:28am

Sasuke2000 May 14, 2015 @ 9:47pm

Originally posted by CanisBrian:
EU don't have a region lock. You can buy games from UK, FR or other European steam store.(Note: Russia and CIS have a region lock). I'm not sure about AU and JP regions.
Keys have a region lock.
For example, Sains Row IV
http://steamdb.info/sub/28362/ - RU/CIS. You can buy and play only in RU/CIS countries
http://steamdb.info/sub/28361/ - ROW. You can buy in most EU countries(also North and South America)
Another Note: If you'll buy game in German Steam Store, you can get a low-violence version(no blood, no dismemberment)

Hi,
I have a question.

I live in Canada but went to live in United Kingdom for 8 months. During that time I bought a dozen games on steam. Can I play those games back in my home country of Canada?

HLCinSC May 14, 2015 @ 11:14pm

Originally posted by neilman007:
Originally posted by CanisBrian:
EU don't have a region lock. You can buy games from UK, FR or other European steam store.(Note: Russia and CIS have a region lock). I'm not sure about AU and JP regions.
Keys have a region lock.
For example, Sains Row IV
http://steamdb.info/sub/28362/ - RU/CIS. You can buy and play only in RU/CIS countries
http://steamdb.info/sub/28361/ - ROW. You can buy in most EU countries(also North and South America)
Another Note: If you'll buy game in German Steam Store, you can get a low-violence version(no blood, no dismemberment)

Hi,
I have a question.

I live in Canada but went to live in United Kingdom for 8 months. During that time I bought a dozen games on steam. Can I play those games back in my home country of Canada?

You should be able to as those regions are similarly priced. It can vary game to game, but the rule of thumb is usually if the regular price is about the same in both regions it is usually ok, but if one region is significantly cheaper than the other then you need to check prior to purchasing. Of course these are guidelines and there is always exceptions.

#10

Edward Teach Oct 29, 2015 @ 11:05am

HI,

Does DLC region lock?
For example:
- I have ROW game
- DLC from Traders / friends buy in their restricted country and trade/gift to me
Does it work with my ROW?

#11

voragoski Dec 1, 2015 @ 6:48am

Just encountered this trying to buy for a friend in NA, from Singapore. It's so STUPID. I mean, the Malaysian currency is literally HALF of ours, and yet I can buy one from there and still play here.

Just.. jeez. Is there a way for me to just pay in NA exchange rates so I can gift it to them? I mean, I really don't care if I have to, I just want to be able to gift it over.

#12