Steam: This item is currently unavailable in your region? Here's how to bypass it!

[ave]

What I don't get though, and I've probably mentioned this before, is that some of these games that are region locked are Steam-only games.
Prototype 2 is a good example. It is region locked, but when I bought the game on disc and installed it, it required that I activate it on Steam since it is a Steam-only game. So the game is now in my Steam Library, but I still cannot access the store or DLC page for the game. I've had a couple of games like this, but can't remember others now.

Maybe it might have something to do with publisher agreements. I know Gamersgate has an issue with regards to selling EA games in SA which is why there are little or no EA games listed if you access Gamersgate.com but if you access Gamersgate.co.uk, you can see them. Although, Prototype is published by Activision and almost all their games are available in SA, so not sure.

Strange- I seem to be able to access prototype 2 without a problem.

 

[Clive Woofer]

Nah, it tells me Prototype 2 isn't available in our region too.

It's generally just the Steam Store where these games aren't available. Secret World, as an example, is for sale at many physical retailers but for some reason we can't buy it on Steam either. It's weird why games that are available otherwise aren't available for our region on Steam.

 

[AlphaJohn]

Strange- I seem to be able to access prototype 2 without a problem.

Have the same, can see & buy both Prototype 1 & 2 no problem. and to test I looked for Dark Sector that I know is blocked.

 

[ave]

Have the same, can see & buy both Prototype 1 & 2 no problem. and to test I looked for Dark Sector that I know is blocked.

Now today I click on it and it's no longer available ???

 

[James]

No Castlevania: Lords of Shadow in SA due to FPB

 

[Dohc-WP]

Can't rep, sadly.

yeah

 

[ViperGTI]

No Castlevania: Lords of Shadow in SA due to FPB

Just watched the trailer... Looks pretty interesting.
You didn't perhaps gain any insight on why other games like Prototype 2 which is available in store and actually activates on Steam, is blocked on Steam store?

 

[Ser_Bunnylot]

Necro Alert

Ok so I want to purchase this:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/47810/

(here's the ?cc=US URL)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/47810/?cc=US

Buuuuut... I'm not sure how without risking my account getting locked. I've read through the posts here but it seems Steam have become wiser to the problem and my CC/Paypal isn't working, and I'm not sure if using a proxy is a good idea.

Anyone got around region lock recently?

 

[AlphaJohn]

Necro Alert

Ok so I want to purchase this:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/47810/

(here's the ?cc=US URL)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/47810/?cc=US

Buuuuut... I'm not sure how without risking my account getting locked. I've read through the posts here but it seems Steam have become wiser to the problem and my CC/Paypal isn't working, and I'm not sure if using a proxy is a good idea.

Anyone got around region lock recently?

I normally buy on other sites like Greenman and Gamersgate and then activiting on Steam.... not my fault they don't tell me its not in my region

 

[MetalSoup]

I normally buy on other sites like Greenman and Gamersgate and then activiting on Steam.... not my fault they don't tell me its not in my region

Unfortunately, for this particular game you'll have better luck on Origin, or asking a friend who lives somewhere that it is available.

 

[ave]

If you don't mind waiting you can get this directly from Origin. standard price is cheaper and they have sales all the time.

 

[Ser_Bunnylot]

Yeah been waiting for an Origin sale but haven't noticed one yet.

I bought the CnC ultimate bundle 1 day before it went on sale last year. Happened with a few Steam games as well. Such is my luck

 

[ave]

Yeah been waiting for an Origin sale but haven't noticed one yet.

I bought the CnC ultimate bundle 1 day before it went on sale last year. Happened with a few Steam games as well. Such is my luck

haha, happens to all of us. I bought a retail version of darksiders 2 a day before the humble bundle featuring Darksiders 2 as well as a few other games, for far less than I paid.

 

[StaggerLee]

How to access some of the region restricted games on Steam.

If you go to http://store.steampowered.com/app/234080/ you will get the following error:

You can bypass this by adding "?cc=US" to the end of the URL,

Like this: http://store.steampowered.com/app/234080/?cc=US

This should allow you to search for, and purchase games that we're normally not allowed to view.

Enjoy!

Awesome, thanks Eugene. Can't rep, but I would if I could.

 

[MetalSoup]

Awesome, thanks Eugene. Can't rep, but I would if I could.

That's an old post, you can still view the games with that method, but you'll get an error when you try to make a purchase.

 

[Raxin]

Sooo, has any of this changed, especially now that we've got Rand prices listed? I've been trying to buy Railroad Tycoon 2 & 3 on Steam year on year, but haven't tried any funny tricks. Steam is the only service selling it online and ironically the disks were available here. I'll probably ask someone internationally to gift it to me but I'm worried about getting someone and myself banned.

 

[The_Imp_ZA]

Sooo, has any of this changed, especially now that we've got Rand prices listed? I've been trying to buy Railroad Tycoon 2 & 3 on Steam year on year, but haven't tried any funny tricks. Steam is the only service selling it online and ironically the disks were available here. I'll probably ask someone internationally to gift it to me but I'm worried about getting someone and myself banned.

Yes. A "ban" is the least of your worries. As of last year's Christmas sale, all games on Steam are region locked to the region they were purchased in. If your friend buys the game in the US, it will only be able to be activated in the US. If you buy a game in the ZA store, it can only be activated in South Africa, and so on.

I don't see any other stores selling ROW Steam keys for Railroad Tycoon unfortunately. You could try contacting 2K Games, as they're the publisher and ask them about how you could purchase the game, using a politely worded email.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much success you would have, as the game hasn't been rated by most Publication and Ratings Boards, so that's the reason it's not being sold locally or elsewhere.

 

[AlphaJohn]

Yes. A "ban" is the least of your worries. As of last year's Christmas sale, all games on Steam are region locked to the region they were purchased in. If your friend buys the game in the US, it will only be able to be activated in the US. If you buy a game in the ZA store, it can only be activated in South Africa, and so on.

I don't see any other stores selling ROW Steam keys for Railroad Tycoon unfortunately. You could try contacting 2K Games, as they're the publisher and ask them about how you could purchase the game, using a politely worded email.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much success you would have, as the game hasn't been rated by most Publication and Ratings Boards, so that's the reason it's not being sold locally or elsewhere.

Not true, the limitation is only for developing countries games outside of their regions. ie: RSA, Russia, Brazil and China games not allowed to be gifted to 1st world countries as we get games cheaper. Using VPN's to get games cheaper will get your account locked (no more buying new games) not ban'ed as they not allowed to remove access to games you already own. They can just deny you access to VAC or other multiplayers servers and to add more games to your account.

You can however buy games in US, UK or NZ and gift them to someone in the developing countries. Or buy on online stores from said countries (Example Greenman gaming) and activate them here.

There are some games that do not fall under this category and are locked out to a specific region example Wolfenstein: The New Order (Because of the Nazi emblems) But we dont have any of those in South Africa.

If you are concerned you can always check SteamDB it should look like this:

But as you can see Railroud tycoon has none: https://steamdb.info/app/7610/info/ They simply just dont have pricing.

So if someone in US/UK/NZ/AU can buy it for you, go for it.

 

[The_Imp_ZA]

words

Ahh, good to know. I thought the restriction was for all regions.

 

[Raxin]

Not true, the limitation is only for developing countries games outside of their regions. ie: RSA, Russia, Brazil and China games not allowed to be gifted to 1st world countries as we get games cheaper. Using VPN's to get games cheaper will get your account locked (no more buying new games) not ban'ed as they not allowed to remove access to games you already own. They can just deny you access to VAC or other multiplayers servers and to add more games to your account.

You can however buy games in US, UK or NZ and gift them to someone in the developing countries. Or buy on online stores from said countries (Example Greenman gaming) and activate them here.

There are some games that do not fall under this category and are locked out to a specific region example Wolfenstein: The New Order (Because of the Nazi emblems) But we dont have any of those in South Africa.

If you are concerned you can always check SteamDB it should look like this:

But as you can see Railroud tycoon has none: https://steamdb.info/app/7610/info/ They simply just dont have pricing.

So if someone in US/UK/NZ/AU can buy it for you, go for it.

Ok great, thanks! I've got a specific friend in NZ in mind . I'm guessing if it's blocked for whatever reason, he'll see the red warning we do when trying to gift.