Valve refreshes Steam's regional pricing conversion data for developers

Valve has refreshed the numbers that power Steam’s pricing conversion tools, according to an announcement posted to the Steamworks Development group on Steam on October 8 (Pacific time). The tools are offered to developers to help them work out what to charge for their products in Steam’s different regions.

What changed

• New data for every method: Valve says the refresh applies to all three conversion options it offers developers, namely Exchange Rate Conversion, Purchasing Power Conversion and Multi-variable Conversion.
• No action required: the company stresses that developers do not need to touch their prices because of this update. Pricing stays a developer decision, and the refreshed figures are simply used the next time a studio decides to revise what it charges on Steam.
• Regular reviews: Valve describes the refresh as part of a recurring check of the underlying data against current market conditions, and says it plans to keep updating it from time to time. The date of the latest refresh is listed under “Last Updated” on Steamworks’ About Regional Pricing page.

Context

According to the same post, the refresh follows an earlier update to the pricing conversion tools that Valve made in March of this year. Valve points developers to that earlier announcement, titled “Updates to Pricing Conversion Tools,” for a breakdown of how each method works and a list of frequently asked questions.

What we don’t know yet

The announcement does not say how much the suggested prices move in any particular country or currency, and because price changes remain optional, any effect on what players pay depends on whether and when individual developers update their prices.