Steam prices in Romania are too high compared to local salaries — piracy is a consequence, not choice

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Salion 10 月 9 日下午 12:43

Hey everyone,

I’m a long-time Steam user from Romania, and I want to share my perspective on why Steam pricing here is becoming a real problem — and how it could actually be a win-win for Valve and developers if addressed correctly.

**The problem:**
- The **average net salary in Romania is around €650/month**.
- Many AAA titles, like *Baldur’s Gate 3*, *Cyberpunk 2077*, or *Elden Ring*, cost **€59–70**, same as in Germany, France, or the UK.
- That means buying a single game can equal **~10% of a monthly income**, which is huge for an average Romanian gamer.

**Impact on gaming habits:**
- Many gamers simply **cannot afford to buy games at full price**.
- As a result, Romania has one of the **highest software piracy rates in Eastern Europe**. According to the **BSA Global Software Survey**, over **50% of software in Romania was unlicensed in recent years**.
- This is not because Romanians don’t want to support developers — it’s frustration and lack of affordability.
- Even indie and mid-range titles are often skipped because the perceived value is low compared to Western pricing.

**Regional pricing elsewhere works:**
- Steam already applies regional pricing in countries like **Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, and Russia**. Prices there are often **2–3 times lower** than in Western Europe to reflect local incomes.
- Platforms like **Netflix and Spotify** saw huge growth in Romania after implementing local pricing tiers, proving that affordability increases legal purchases.

**Why Valve would benefit:**
- **Higher legitimate sales**: Many players would start buying games instead of pirating.
- **Community growth**: A more active player base increases engagement, multiplayer longevity, and Steam ecosystem revenue (DLCs, microtransactions, etc.).
- **Goodwill and reputation**: Being seen as fair builds loyalty — players remember when they are treated as valued customers.

**Supporting examples:**
- *Cyberpunk 2077*: €59.99 in Romania vs. €25 in Turkey (regional pricing adjusted) — similar incomes to Romania’s average would justify €30–40 per copy.
- *Elden Ring*: €69.99 in Romania, €29.99 in Argentina.
- Steam Workshop and microtransactions are not enough — base game affordability is the first barrier.
- Romanian gamers already heavily discuss this on forums, Reddit, Discord, and other gaming communities. There’s a clear **demand for fair pricing**.

**Recent updates / context:**
- EU Directive 2018/302 allows regional pricing adjustments to reflect local market conditions.
- Steam updated its **regional pricing guide in 2023**, but Romania remains mostly in “Western pricing tiers” despite much lower incomes.
- With the rise of digital-only distribution, piracy isn’t hardware-constrained anymore — pricing is one of the biggest drivers.

**Conclusion / plea:**
- This isn’t a complaint — it’s feedback and a request.
- Romania is full of gamers who **want to buy games legally**.
- **A 20–30% price adjustment** for AAA titles would massively reduce piracy, increase legal sales, and strengthen Valve’s position in the region.
- Valve can make this a win-win: fairer prices for players, more sales and loyalty for Steam, and happier developers.

Thanks for reading and supporting fair gaming. We really want to continue buying games legally — but prices need to reflect local realities.

From a Romanian gamer who loves Steam.

最后由 Salion 编辑于; 11 月 11 日下午 9:48

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cSg|mc-Hotsauce 10 月 9 日下午 12:49

引用自 Salion：
Steam prices in Romania are too high compared to local salaries — piracy is a consequence, not choice

Hey everyone,

I’m a long-time Steam user from Romania, and I want to share my perspective on why Steam pricing here is becoming a real problem — and how it could actually be a win-win for Valve and developers if addressed correctly.

**The problem:**
- The **average net salary in Romania is around €650/month**.
- Many AAA titles, like *Baldur’s Gate 3*, *Cyberpunk 2077*, or *Elden Ring*, cost **€59–70**, same as in Germany, France, or the UK.
- That means buying a single game can equal **~10% of a monthly income**, which is huge for an average Romanian gamer.

**Impact on gaming habits:**
- Many gamers simply **cannot afford to buy games at full price**.
- As a result, Romania has one of the **highest software piracy rates in Eastern Europe**. According to the **BSA Global Software Survey**, over **50% of software in Romania was unlicensed in recent years**.
- This is not because Romanians don’t want to support developers — it’s frustration and lack of affordability.
- Even indie and mid-range titles are often skipped because the perceived value is low compared to Western pricing.

**Regional pricing elsewhere works:**
- Steam already applies regional pricing in countries like **Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, and Russia**. Prices there are often **2–3 times lower** than in Western Europe to reflect local incomes.
- Platforms like **Netflix and Spotify** saw huge growth in Romania after implementing local pricing tiers, proving that affordability increases legal purchases.

**Why Valve would benefit:**
- **Higher legitimate sales**: Many players would start buying games instead of pirating.
- **Community growth**: A more active player base increases engagement, multiplayer longevity, and Steam ecosystem revenue (DLCs, microtransactions, etc.).
- **Goodwill and reputation**: Being seen as fair builds loyalty — players remember when they are treated as valued customers.

**Supporting examples:**
- *Cyberpunk 2077*: €59.99 in Romania vs. €25 in Turkey (regional pricing adjusted) — similar incomes to Romania’s average would justify €30–40 per copy.
- *Elden Ring*: €69.99 in Romania, €29.99 in Argentina.
- Steam Workshop and microtransactions are not enough — base game affordability is the first barrier.
- Romanian gamers already heavily discuss this on forums, Reddit, Discord, and other gaming communities. There’s a clear **demand for fair pricing**.

**Recent updates / context:**
- EU Directive 2018/302 allows regional pricing adjustments to reflect local market conditions.
- Steam updated its **regional pricing guide in 2023**, but Romania remains mostly in “Western pricing tiers” despite much lower incomes.
- With the rise of digital-only distribution, piracy isn’t hardware-constrained anymore — pricing is one of the biggest drivers.

**Conclusion / plea:**
- This isn’t a complaint — it’s feedback and a request.
- Romania is full of gamers who **want to buy games legally**.
- **A 20–30% price adjustment** for AAA titles would massively reduce piracy, increase legal sales, and strengthen Valve’s position in the region.
- Valve can make this a win-win: fairer prices for players, more sales and loyalty for Steam, and happier developers.

Thanks for reading and supporting fair gaming. We really want to continue buying games legally — but prices need to reflect local realities.

From a Romanian gamer who loves Steam.

Romanian Leu (RON) was scrapped because EU.

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/pricing/currencies

ꉔꏂ꒐꒒ꇙ 10 月 9 日下午 1:54

引用自 Salion：

- Many AAA titles, like *Baldur’s Gate 3*, *Cyberpunk 2077*, or *Elden Ring*, cost **€59–70**, same as in Germany, France, or the UK.

Be glad they don't cost more, like A$89.95 and so forth.

The best thing you can do is wait and grab up the games you want when the Sales/Discounts/Events come around.

Just start saving up little by little until you have the amount you want/need for whatever it is that you want. You don't need to be in a rush to buy any game, especially at their full price (most are never worth it)

You probably could have been bought these games if you've saved up for them and got them while they were discounted. The good thing is, there are more sales to come lol.

Thanksgiving Sale? The Winter Sale etc. Save up and by the time (or maybe even before) these sales come around, you'll be able to get one or so of the games you want.

Edit: Also, here https://steamdb.info/sales/history/ to keep a track of every sale that is coming to Steam.

Next Fest = Oct 13th - 20th

Steam Scream 4 = Oct 27th - November 3rd and more! this should help you out with getting these games during the sales.

最后由 ꉔꏂ꒐꒒ꇙ 编辑于; 10 月 9 日下午 1:58

Ettanin 10 月 9 日下午 3:18

RON was formerly supported but then put on the legacy bin, likely due to the European Union demanding equal treatment to all customers by permitting regional prices within the EU if ALL EU members had access to them. Therefore, a single EU price for everyone, and the highest one for maximized profits.

The only exception is Poland, because Poland, by national law, requires payment in PLN if goods were sold in Poland, putting Valve into a catch-22 position because the payment system does not support multiple currencies for one Store region nor does it support real-time conversion of prices from EUR to PLN. And yes, only Polish people have access to PLN pricing (and in turn no access to EUR pricing) which is in violation of EU law.

blunus 10 月 9 日下午 4:37

Or... you could be patient and buy games only on discounts.

I'm a Romanian gamer who, too, love Steam as much as discounts and owned 1k+ games.

Not to mention the currencies that you compared are volatile and unstable.

sigmao 11 月 11 日上午 6:35

Ben Lubar 11 月 11 日上午 6:43

Could you state your own thoughts next time rather than having an LLM spit out a wall of text you didn't write?

Sauriel 11 月 11 日下午 1:11

Sometimes it may be a ripple effect because of "that" guy, but there are other ways to deal with people getting in your way, it depends on what you want. For games thats been out a time, a discount is preferable. For much older games they slap a big number and a remake of, or take away the original cheap version, they can be still found in net vaults. The gov A-holes are after the biggest site known as internet archives now, rivaling the nazi book burning, so that site is no longer safe to upload lost media. Epic games delisted the entire unreal series, since modern greed was more desirable than their history, so games like these will vanish entirely if somehow the entire archives get purged, unless people have them stored on devices

最后由 Sauriel 编辑于; 11 月 11 日下午 1:33

Vaulty 11 月 11 日下午 1:52

You think Romania has it bad? Look at Poland, higher price than USD, EUR or Swiss.

󠀡󠀡 11 月 11 日下午 1:56

引用自 Salion：
—

Now try without using LLM.

Lemiru 11 月 12 日上午 1:37

引用自 Vaulty：
You think Romania has it bad? Look at Poland, higher price than USD, EUR or Swiss.

Our prices are actually lower than Swiss ones but the rest holds true. And It's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ridiculous that we have to pay 10% more than the Euro price if a game uses recommended pricing

#10

Pocahawtness 11 月 12 日上午 3:27

Theft is always a choice, unless it's food and you are starving. You just have to be wiser when you spend the money you have.

#11

BIGDOG4 11 月 12 日上午 4:32

Not only in Romania you can be shure of that. Question is however why the prices in countries like Russia are way lower !

#12

Tact1calPh3n3x 12 月 10 日下午 12:33

引用自 Vaulty：
You think Romania has it bad? Look at Poland, higher price than USD, EUR or Swiss.

cry about it lil puppy

#13

SilentBugler 12 月 10 日下午 12:58

Fair regional pricing is what once gave Valve such an edge in developing countries. Since the price recommendations were last updated the economic conditions have changed in many countries,
And now with the economy taking a downturn globally developers better take note or be left behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XigPD8BCkho