Steam is by far one of the most popular PC gaming platforms ever made. That said, game publishers often geo-restrict their games to certain regions making them inaccessible to gamers in other places. While Steam might not be able to do anything about that, sometimes random bugs or glitches can do that to globally released games as well.
In this article, we’re taking a look at how to fix Steam’s “this item is currently unavailable in your region” error, its causes and what you can do to fix the problem.
Why does this error happen?
The most obvious reason for this is that the game you’re trying to download hasn’t yet been released in your region yet. There are a lot of games that get geo-restricted either due to copyright issues or local compliance laws. Regardless, if a game publisher chooses to not release their game, Steam will not be able to do anything about the situation.
Also read: How to fix Steam error code 118?
How to fix this?
The simplest way to get around this error is to use a VPN along with Steam’s web version.
The desktop version of Steam, although more popular doesn’t work too well with VPNs. This means that even if you choose a particular location for a VPN connection ultimately changing the location of your IP address, the Steam desktop client will still work within your local internet region.
The best way to get around this is to simply use the Steam website. It works in the browser itself meaning it can be impacted by VPNs and all you have to do is change your VPN’s location to where the game you want is available. After that, you can log into the Steam website with the same credentials you use on the desktop client and purchase the game.
As soon as the purchase goes through, the game will appear in your library. Now you can either start downloading the game right away (Steam asks if you already have the client installed on your PC if you buy a game on the website) or keep it in your library for later use.
What happens when you buy an out-of-region game?
Do keep in mind that buying out-of-region games can have an impact on your in-game experience, especially if it’s a multiplayer game. You might run into latency and ping issues as there won’t be any servers nearby for you to connect and play properly. Any achievements and rewards might also be problematic. However, if the game is single-player, you wouldn’t really have an issue.
Also read: Hulu Error ‘Your login has been blocked’: 14 Fixes
