Valve is changing the currency used for Steam sales in Argentina and Turkey to USD on November 20, 2023, due to “exchange rate volatility” in those regions.
The move means developers selling titles on Steam in either country will need to add USD pricing for their projects in the new LATAM-USD and MENA-USD pricing section of Steamworks’ Price Management Tool before November 20. Failure to do so will result in Valve defaulting to the standard USD pricing developers already have in Steamworks.
“Exchange rate volatility in Argentina and Turkey in recent years has made it hard for game developers to choose appropriate prices for their games and keep them current. We have heard this loud and clear in our developer meet ups and roundtable chats,” said Valve in a blog post.
“In addition, we have had a hard time keeping Steam payment methods up and running in these territories due to the constant foreign exchange fluctuations, fees, taxes, and logistical issues. Pricing games in USD for customers in Argentina and Turkey will help us provide greater stability and consistency for players and partners, while also enabling us to continue to offer a variety of payment methods to Steam users in those countries/territories.”
The pivot means that, after November 20, attempts to initialize in-game transactions in Argentinian Pesos or Turkish Lira will fail. “If your game currently supports in-game purchases denominated in these currencies you should ensure that, prior to making an InitTxn call, your backend calls the GetUserInfo web API endpoint to obtain the customer’s preferred currency,” said Valve.
The company said the price developers submit to InitTxn should be specified in that preferred currency. It also explained that customers who previously had Steam Wallets denominated in Argentinian Pesos or Turkish Lira will be told to report USD as their preferred currency and all in-game purchases will default to USD.
In an FAQ detailing its new LATAM-USD and MENA-USD pricing structures, Valve said that altering those prices won’t trigger a 30-day cooldown on discounting—allowing developers to tweak their prices in Argentina and Turkey without inadvertently removing their ability to engage in promotional activity.
The company noted its new LATAM-USD and MENA-USD options will cover 25 territories across Latin America and the Middle East & North Africa, meaning other countries will also be receiving regionalized USD pricing for the first time.
For more information on the upcoming changes, check out the Steamworks blog.