Steam users in the European Union (EU) can now see a game’s lowest price point within the last month.
Due to a recent regulatory law from May 28 dubbed the “Omnibus Directive,” all online stores now have to display an item’s 30-day low price. Though Valve already has limits on price manipulation, the EU’s Directive offers an extra layer of transparency to buyers and developers alike.
Steam prices in the EU
The aim appears to be to prevent sudden markups on a game before an eventual discount. While the Directive was likely in the works for some time, this notably comes weeks after PlayStation games on Steam suddenly had their prices jacked up in regions such as Japan and Chile.
“Any announcement of a price reduction shall indicate the prior price applied by the trader for a determined period of time prior to the application of the price reduction,” reads the Omnibus Directive. it clarified that “prior price” means the seller’s lowest price “during a period of time not shorter than 30 days prior to the application of the price reduction.”
The new EU changes also fall in line with how Valve has recently tackled pricing on Steam. In 2022, it introduced new rules that let developers offer discount prices on a more consistent basis. It also tweaked how devs can manage global prices and promised to offer more consistent updates to the storefront’s regional prices.