Why are some games only available in certain countries?

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Ryan-1945 Feb 28 @ 6:48pm

I mean Dragon Quest X Offline only exists in both SEA & East Asian regions while this is inaccessible to Western players, it's up to the publisher's discretion whether they want a worldwide release of their title or not, buying a game key won't really suffice as Fanatical & Green Man will show eligible regions the key is redeemable in.

If your country isn't listed, that means you can't use the key. This is why some players have their main account in their home country using an alt account set in another country where that game key can be redeemed (no intention on buying a game for cheap) but gaining access to a title not available in their region.

Last edited by Ryan-1945; Feb 28 @ 6:48pm

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Showing 1-11 of 11 comments

Chompman Feb 28 @ 6:57pm

There could be any number of reasons such as laws preventing them from selling in certain regions or not wanting to sell there as they don't offer support of other languages or have server hosting there.

What you are talking about with two accounts is not allowed as that violates steams tos by having a account in a region you don't live in.

ْSmoke™ Feb 28 @ 7:00pm

publisher, and the country itself, here my country blocked maxpayne 3 for extreme nudity while GTA V and cyberpunk still up, so it's pretty random, unless the publisher itself blacklist your country like what sony did with all of its recent games for over 170 countries. Always you can get the game by making someone gift it to you even if its blocked in your country.

Ryan-1945 Feb 28 @ 7:03pm

Originally posted by ْSmoke™:
my country blocked maxpayne 3 for extreme nudity while GTA V and cyberpunk still up

Is it because certain countries (like in the Middle East) are conservative? I mean, do they even censor or outright ban movies or TV shows that also contain nudity or block actual p*rn sites?

Last edited by Ryan-1945; Feb 28 @ 7:04pm

ْSmoke™ Feb 28 @ 7:05pm

Originally posted by Ryan-1945:
Originally posted by ْSmoke™:
my country blocked maxpayne 3 for extreme nudity while GTA V and cyberpunk still up
Is it because certain countries (like in the Middle East) are conservative? I mean, do they even censor movies or TV shows that also contain nudity or block actual p*rn sites?

yeah we usually got a lot of western movies blocked, but people pirate it anyway there is no actual copyright law, as for p0rn some countries block it and some not.

Ryan-1945 Feb 28 @ 7:09pm

Originally posted by ْSmoke™:
yeah we usually got a lot of western movies blocked, but people pirate it anyway there is no actual copyright law, as for p0rn some countries block it and some not.

I know it's a similar situation in Saudi Arabia or UAE since they're conservative (due to their religious doctrine) Not only in games, is Netflix dulled down since they remove content containing stuff they don't want. I recall the UAE banning Spec Ops: The Line since they deem it a bad image for their country despite the game's plot being fictional.

Last edited by Ryan-1945; Feb 28 @ 7:11pm

ْSmoke™ Feb 28 @ 7:15pm

Originally posted by Ryan-1945:
Originally posted by ْSmoke™:
yeah we usually got a lot of western movies blocked, but people pirate it anyway there is no actual copyright law, as for p0rn some countries block it and some not.
I know it's a similar situation in Saudi Arabia or UAE since they're conservative (due to their religious doctrine) Not only in games, is Netflix dulled down since they remove content containing stuff they don't want. I recall the UAE banning Spec Ops: The Line since they deem it a bad image for their country despite the game's plot being fictional.

yeah they do sometimes block movies from netflix and cinemas, but sometimes the publisher it self know that his movie or game will get blocked here, so he do block it for us in advance like the latest dragon age game.

ペンギン Feb 28 @ 7:23pm

Why are some games only available in certain countries?

Profit interests, (illegal) price fixing, greed, alleged preservation of so called culture, xenophobia, political leverage, control, surveillance. Can be transferred to other goods and even knowledge. Not only digital.

Last edited by ペンギン; Feb 28 @ 7:25pm

cSg|mc-Hotsauce Feb 28 @ 8:28pm

For the game in question, publisher licensing agreements.

As for your previous thread you deleted...

What's your ultimate goal after you gather info about different prices between countries and payment methods across multiple threads?