GGG please consider to #polishourprices

In October 2022, a video game digital distribution service, Steam, updated its recommended regional pricing. Those changes affected Polish Steam prices as well as prices in other regions that did not use the US dollar. During that time, the purchasing power of the Polish zloty (PLN, zł) was the weakest in years. As a result, Polish gamers had to face price increases of up to 28%. We started paying 274.99 zł for games that previously cost 214.99 zł. Since then, the Polish zloty has strengthened, and its value stabilized. Even though the recommended prices were supposed to be updated regularly, Valve, the company responsible for the development of Steam, made no changes for almost two years.

The PLN-EUR exchange rate that was used back in 2022 differs significantly from the current one. As a result, in many cases, Polish gamers buy PC games that are practically the most expensive in the world. Publishers who use Valve's default pricing automatically set the RRP in Poland at 10% above the recommended euro prices. Factorio is one of many examples that highlight the problem. In Poland, the game costs 160 zł, but in Germany, it costs €32, i.e., 137,17 zł at the current exchange rate. Such a difference may seem small when viewed from the perspective of a single purchase. However, it is necessary to take into account the high demand for PC games in Poland. The number of overpriced titles runs into the hundreds, if not thousands, and this applies not only to games developed by independent studios. Poles will have to pay 349 zł for Forza Motorsport, while the exact game costs €69.99 (approx. 299,90 zł) in Eurozone. As a result, the recommended pricing creates a difference of nearly 14%, to the disadvantage of the Polish zloty.

Despite the growth of the Polish economy, the average earnings of Polish citizens and residents still lag behind those of most countries using Euros. Unfortunately, Polish PC players pay substantially more for games than citizens of other European countries.