Valve continues crackdown on Steam 'tourists' who switch countries for cheaper games

Valve still isn't fond of people who shop in other countries to get the best game prices, and it just made life considerably more difficult for those "tourists." Steam Database noted that Valve now limits you to changing your Steam account's country to once every three months. You can't just flip back and forth to get the best deals, in other words.

The move comes nearly a year after a related change that required gamers to make a purchase in a given country when they switch to it. That approach made it harder to use VPNs for buying games in other countries, but didn't stop people who were willing to switch accounts for deals. Those switchers will now have to either scale back their purchases or accept that they won't always get the lowest prices.

This does create complications. While the three-month interval will likely be enough for most people, it could lead to headaches if you really do hop from country to country more frequently.

It's also unclear how the European Union will respond to the move. Regulators recently fined Valve €7.8 million (about $9.4 million) for restricting access to games between EU countries. Those officials may not be enthusiastic about limiting account mobility, even if it's only for short periods.