Steam prices are different all over the globe. Mainly because publishers asks Steam to do. But we gamers are always looking for a cheaper deal. Even though as a user we’re restricted to buy from the only one region in which our account is created, there is a way around this.
How to buy games outside your region?
Finding the cheap price via the SteamRegionalPriceChecker is the first step towards a complex process of buying it from another region. Technically it’s not illegal and we are not going to violate any of the T&C laid down by steampowered.com in this process so to speak. But it still not a legit way and method as prescribed by steam to buy games.
The process goes this way
- Connect to the steampowered.com via the IP of the desired region and register a new account.
- Access the payment gateway accepted in the country ( your credit card most probably won’t work in different region directly )
- A valid postal address to confirm your residence and complete the payment process.
Now there are two ways do this, the simplest being make a new steam account in different region, buy the game and play from it. This is very simple and requires only little amount of work. But adds the headache of managing and switching between multiple steam accounts when you want to play. But this is by far very safe and simple method.
The more complex would be making a new steam account in different region, buying the game as a gift and gifting the game to your main account. Well this sounds really nice but requires a bit of work.
Tell me HOW ?
For both the methods, what you need is a VPN (Virtual Private Network ) connection or a Proxy Server or a Proxy Connection or a Proxy IP to connect to. For this example let’s say you want to buy a steam game on Steam’s US store, you will need to connect via a US VPN or a US Proxy. To make things simple I just buy games via browser, this makes it easy to easily connect via a proxy or even a VPN.
There are several ways connect to the desired IP
- Buy a VPN – VPN now a days are cheap and give you security, privacy and enhanced security of the content you access via it.
- Use a Proxy Server or a proxy IP ( very unsafe )
- Use Tor to connect to your desired country exit node.
VPN
VPN services help you hide your IP and mask another IP of your choice. There are free VPN services but most are very shady and I won’t recommend them as those free VPNs might steal or copy the data transferred over them. Most paid VPNs are pretty cheap and can be used for multiple purposes, the main advantage of paid VPNs is they are secure, provide you the maximum speed, server switching options, and to top it all you get a 24×7 technical support team to help you sort out any issue.
Connecting to VPN is easy too, just go to
Network and Sharing Center > Set up a New Connection > Connect to a workplace > Create a new connection > Use my Internet Connection ( VPN ) > Enter the details you get from your VPN provider > Next > Enter username & password > Click Connect to connect to VPN.
Proxy Server/IP
These are shady and unsafe but they will do the job. You can google for proxy servers/IP s to connect to but the speed is not reliable nor their security, you can end up using them but you cannot guarantee your account’s safety. I would not personally want to use my credit card details over a proxy server but if I have to I’ll be very cautious or use one of those virtual credit card with limited balance to make sure even if it’s hacked or leaked or shared there is no harm done.
Once you have the proxy IP, you can change your Browser settings to connect to that proxy IP.
Using Tor
For those who know what Tor read, skip this paragraph. Tor is a free software which provides online anonymity, protects privacy and helps you mask a different IP. When you connect to Tor, it directs your Internet traffic through a network which is connected to thousands of relays thus protecting your online activity and making tracking almost impossible. It is safe and can be used for transactions if necessary. Most of the bitcoin users use Tor to protect their privacy while doing anonymous transactions.
Tor can be configured to be used to have a specific country as an exit node, which means your IP which would be displayed on the sites can be made specific to a country. Specific Country as Exit Node.
- Start Vidalia Control Panel. And click on View the Network. This will give us the information we need to set our exit node to a specific country.
- The Tor Network Map displays the health of the Relay, Country and Name. Make a note of the ones you want ( specific region and best health ).
- In Vidalia the control Panel, go to Settings > Advanced Tab > torrc file > Browse. Edit the file and add these lines just below the comments ( lines that start with # )
ExitNodes relay1, relay2, relay3, relay4
StrictExitNodes 1
relay1, relay2, are the relay names you noted from the Tor Network Map.
- Save it.
- Stop the service. Restart it and let it connect again. It should connect to your desired location.
Final Step of Buying Steam Games via VPN or other services.
- Once you are connected to the region you want, open your browser and go to steampowered.com. Register a brand new steam account with a valid email address.
- Add the games to the Cart and checkout.
- Now if you are planning to manage two separate accounts you choose ‘Purchase for Myself’, if not then choose the option to ‘Purchase as a Gift’ so that you can gift it to your main account. Fill in the require details and the email of your main steam account if chosen as gift.
- At the checkout page you will need an address, don’t worry if you have no real address from that region. Just google for the famous hotel or apple store or famous stores in that region. Select that address, change a few things but make sure the city, state and pin code are intact. Checkout with the address , your card might not work so use Pay Safe Card as the payment gateway which is exactly the same as PayPal.
- As soon as you’re finished with your process, logout that account .Close the VPN or proxy connection and clear your browser cache and cookies. That’s it! You have purchased a game from different region and/or successfully gifted to your main account.
If you don’t want to go through this ordeal of buying from different region the best way is to ask a friend from that region to buy the game for you and send you as a gift you. This is the simplest and the easiest possible method. You will owe him money but that’s about the complication this method has.