Steam to charge less when you already own part of a bundle

Steam bundles will now have dynamic pricing, adjusting to whether customers already own games included in a bundle, PCGamesN reported.

The more games you already own in a bundle, the cheaper it will become.

PCGamesN said the information comes from documentation given to developers, which it has seen.

“With Steam Bundles, if a customer already [owns] some items in the Bundle, they will pay for and receive only the items not already in their account. This allows the best fans of your series or franchise to ‘complete the set’ and get a deal on the remaining items in the Bundle,” the document stated.

This feature is already available on some bundles on Steam, but it is not clear when it will be rolled out across the platform. We’re willing to bet that it takes place before the next big Steam sale.

According to PCGamesN, the Headup Games Complete bundle has already implemented this change, but it’s probably not the only one.

An example of the Headup Games Complete bundle.

Unfortunately, we don’t own any of the titles within the admittedly large bundle, but PCGamesN have demonstrated that the cost is reduced accordingly.

Steam - Headup Games Complete Bundle - None

The Headup Games Complete bundle without any of the included games owned. Image courtesy of PCGamesN.

Steam - Headup Games Complete Bundle - One

The Headup Games Complete bundle with one of the included games owned. Image courtesy of PCGamesN.

Steam - Headup Games Complete Bundle - Multiple

The Headup Games Complete bundle with a few of the included games owned. Image courtesy of PCGamesN.

This is a change we can get behind, having declined the purchase of many a bundle after discovering we already own a number of the titles it contains.

At that point, the bundle loses a lot of its value, which is a shame because they usually contain a game or two we’d love to get our hands on – games selling at full price or with a much smaller discount outside of the bundle.

We wouldn’t be surprised if this latest change ultimately goes the way of GoG.com’s bundles.

In GoG’s case, you’re free to remove specific titles from a bundle, either because you own or are uninterested in them, but purchasing the entire bundle leverages the largest discount.

You’ll get a smaller discount for eliminating a game from the bundle, but the overall discount still offers great value.