As the video game industry has expanded globally, publishers have had to take strides to keep fans happy in different territories throughout the world. Unfortunately, a number of Steam users around the world are finding themselves anything but happy thanks to some bizarre pricing on Valve’s marketplace. Over the last 24 hours, prices for titles published by Electronic Arts have seen dramatic increases on Steam, with some actually doubling in price! At this time, there has been no explanation given by EA, though it should be noted that prices remain the same on Origin, which means this likely has nothing to do with exchange rates in different countries.
It will be interesting to see if this is merely some kind of pricing error, or perhaps some kind of intentional change, moving forward. The increases don’t seem to follow any specific rhyme or reason, however; some games are seeing smaller price increases as opposed to others, and some are having an impact on significantly older games. While a glitch seems to be the most likely culprit, it’s awfully strange that only games published by EA would have been affected. Also, if the increases are a glitch, it will be interesting to see if players that overpaid for these titles will be reimbursed for the price difference.
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There’s always a possibility that EA is using the price changes to intentionally steer buyers towards purchasing games on Origin, rather than Steam. Origin is EA’s marketplace for PC games, but it seems a bit unlikely that the publisher would charge more on one marketplace versus another. Adding to the confusion, right now, the US seems to be exempt from any of the price increases, but nearly every other country has seen some price fluctuations for EA games. The whole thing just doesn’t make much sense!
As of this writing, neither EA nor Valve has issued a statement regarding the price changes, leaving fans to speculate. To be on the safe side, PC gamers should either opt to wait on purchasing EA games from Steam, or purchase them through Origin until everything gets worked out. Hopefully one of the two companies will clear things up sooner, rather than later.
Have you noticed any changes in pricing on Steam? What do you think is going on? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
