Armored Core VI and Elden Ring Prices Hiked in India, Is Regional Pricing on Steam Dying?

When Bandai Namco listed Armored Core VI on the Indian Steam storefront, the game was priced at ₹2499 INR for the Standard Edition and the price shot up to ₹3599 INR out of nowhere. The same pricing change was implemented to Elden Ring, a game that was released over a year ago and it has Indian gamers wondering if this will be the new norm. 

It is not just Bandai Namco doing this either. Sony PlayStation PC LLC’s Horizon Zero Dawn was initially priced at ₹1099 INR and the game has shot up to ₹3299 INR since February 2022. God of War, which was also published by Sony, released at ₹3299 INR. But newer games like Returnal, The Last of Us Part I, and Ratchet and Clank are priced at ₹3999 INR, which is a significant bump. But why is the price increase happening? It looks like the answer lies in Steam’s changes to its Regional Pricing Recommendations last year.

Steam has hiked India’s Regional Pricing Recommendations by up to 88%

Valve has Regional Pricing Recommendations on Steam that publishers can choose to adopt. According to Valve,” Developers on Steam have control over their own prices, in every currency. But researching and determining ideal prices for dozens of different currencies can be a challenge for some developers. As a service for helping you manage pricing across all our different currencies, Steam offers a recommendation for all other currencies, based on whatever USD price you choose.” 

In October 2022, Steam increased its Pricing Recommendations for India with $0.99 USD purchases being valued at ₹52 INR, up from ₹42 INR. This looks like a 24% increase at first glance but if you look at the $20 to $200 USD bracket, the increase shoots up to 88%.

Here are the current pricing recommendations: 

While a lot of games adhere to Steam’s Regional Pricing Recommendations, others do not and games may charge even higher than the dollar rate. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is priced at ₹4999 INR, which makes the game more expensive in India than in the United States. Games are significantly more expensive on PC right now.

It is entirely up to publishers to decide how much games are priced on Steam. While diehard fans of various franchises will purchase the latest releases no matter what, the pricing changes can possibly deter newer audiences from trying out various games. Earning ₹25,000 INR monthly puts one in India’s top 10% which makes purchasing AAA games almost unfeasible for a vast majority of the population. 

While developers and publishers need to make money to continue functioning, it’s unfortunate that gaming on PC or console is a luxury for the country’s audience. The same trend is occurring in other countries with the likes of Chile, Peru and the Philippines also seeing massive price increases.