Just a few days after Microsoft completed its record-breaking acquisition of Activision Blizzard, regional prices for the company’s games on Steam have skyrocketed in Argentina and Turkey. The changes affected the Call of Duty franchise, as well as some classic titles.
Based on SteamDB data, Activision updated prices for its games in several regions on October 16. Argentina and Turkey were the two countries affected the most by the changes.
Below are the new prices for Call of Duty and other Activision titles in Argentine pesos and Turkish lira, and how they have changed compared to previous ones:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2007) / Modern Warfare 2 (2009) — ARS 8,000 (23x, +2,206%), ₺519.99 (10.6x, +961%);
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II — ARS 24,000 (24x, +2,302%), ₺1,559.99 (9.5x, +851%);
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III — ARS 24,000 (24x, +2,302%), ₺1,559.99 (7.7x, +646%);
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War — ARS 24,000 (2.6x, +166%), ₺1,559.99 (1.6x, +60%);
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy — ARS 16,000 (16x, +1,501%), ₺1,039.99 (6.3x, +533%);
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy — ARS 16,000 (23.5x, +2,256%), ₺1,039.99 (6.3x, +533%);
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time — ARS 16,000 (4.6x, +361%), ₺1,039.99 (2.6x, +160%);
- Prototype — ARS 8,000 (23x, +2,206%), ₺519.99 (10.6x, +961%);
- Zeus + Poseidon — ARS 4,000 (23x, +2,207%), ₺259.99 (7.8x, +687.8%);
- Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved — ARS 6,000 (23x, +2,207%), ₺390.99 (10x, +902.5%);
- TimeShift — ARS 8,000 (23x, +2,207%), ₺519.99 (13x, +1,233%);
- King’s Quest Collection — ARS 8,000 (23x, +2,207%), ₺519.99 (7.8x, +687%);
- Caesar 3 — ARS 2,400 (23x, +2,209%), ₺155.99 (7.7x, +679%).
Recent price increase for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in Argentina (via SteamDB)
Interestingly, some titles have now become more expensive in Argentina compared to the US dollar. For example, converting Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s new regional price of ARS 24,000 results in $68.56 (vs. the US price of $59.99), Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy now costs $45.71 (vs. the US price of $39.99), etc.
As reported by The Gamer, prices for Activision games also increased in Brazil — e.g. Call of Duty: Black Ops II went up nearly 150%. Upon further examination of SteamDB, it turned out that the changes affected regions such as Kazakhstan, South Korea, Ukraine, Indonesia, Philippines, and Uruguay. But the hikes were not as dramatic compared to Argentina and Turkey.
It is unclear whether this has anything to do with the closing of Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, as the Call of Duty maker could have planned the increase ahead. But this move is in line with the ongoing trend of big publishers phasing out cheap regional prices due to fluctuations in some currencies against the US dollar. This is also part of the fight against players switching their Steam regions to buy cheaper games in Latin America, Turkey, or Kazakhstan.
Last year, Valve updated recommended regional prices, with Turkey and Argetina seeing hikes of more than 450%. This led to many publishers increasing the prices for their products, especially in regions where they were historically cheap.
Video games, however, are not the only thing getting more expensive for customers in certain countries. For example, Sony last month increased PS Plus prices in Turkey by nearly 500%, while prices in the US, UK, and Japan went up 20-30%.