Valve cannot go against EU law and get your people better prices while excluding other EU member citizens from the better offers. Therefore, malicious compliance - everyone within the EU pays the same - the highest affordable price.

Valve planned to use Bulgarian Lev as currency, but was scrapped and buried into the legacy graveyard.

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/pricing/currencies

42 - BGN / Bulgarian Lev

Discounts are fair.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Yeezy Boost 350 V2:

Hey everyone, I’m writing this as a frustrated gamer from Bulgaria. I hope I'm posting this in the right place...

Let me get straight to the point:

Bulgaria pays full Western EU prices for games on Steam, despite having one of the lowest average salaries in the European Union.

A €60 game costs about 2% of a German monthly salary, but around 6–10% of the average Bulgarian monthly income. That means we pay 3–5 times more relatively, just to play the same game.
This isn't about being cheap — it's about fairness.

Steam uses regional pricing for many countries (Turkey, Argentina, India, etc.), adjusting for local purchasing power. But Bulgaria is grouped under the Eurozone, meaning we pay €60 like we live in Berlin or Amsterdam. Except we don’t. Our average income is 3–4 times lower.

I’m not asking for pity. I’m asking why we aren’t given a realistic pricing structure that matches our economy — especially when other countries with even higher inflation or instability get tailored prices.

India, Argentina, Turkey aren't in the EU. Don't worry when Turkey joins the EU I expect Turkish users will have a meltdown.

At any rate the EU has rules, Bulgaria isn't special. You don't want to pay EU prices, then campaign for Bugxit, but take a look at the UK and see how well that's worked for them.

And for perspective, in the U.S. not every state is equally wealthy or has the same wages, kinda like the EU. But game prices are pretty much the same across the U.S. I'm sure Mississippi would love to have special regional pricing because they're the poorest state. But they don't, and they ain't gonna get it either.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย nullable:

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Yeezy Boost 350 V2:

Hey everyone, I’m writing this as a frustrated gamer from Bulgaria. I hope I'm posting this in the right place...

Let me get straight to the point:

Bulgaria pays full Western EU prices for games on Steam, despite having one of the lowest average salaries in the European Union.

A €60 game costs about 2% of a German monthly salary, but around 6–10% of the average Bulgarian monthly income. That means we pay 3–5 times more relatively, just to play the same game.
This isn't about being cheap — it's about fairness.

Steam uses regional pricing for many countries (Turkey, Argentina, India, etc.), adjusting for local purchasing power. But Bulgaria is grouped under the Eurozone, meaning we pay €60 like we live in Berlin or Amsterdam. Except we don’t. Our average income is 3–4 times lower.

I’m not asking for pity. I’m asking why we aren’t given a realistic pricing structure that matches our economy — especially when other countries with even higher inflation or instability get tailored prices.

India, Argentina, Turkey aren't in the EU. Don't worry when Turkey joins the EU I expect Turkish users will have a meltdown.

At any rate the EU has rules, Bulgaria isn't special. You don't want to pay EU prices, then campaign for Bugxit, but take a look at the UK and see how well that's worked for them.

And for perspective, in the U.S. not every state is equally wealthy or has the same wages, kinda like the EU. But game prices are pretty much the same across the U.S. I'm sure Mississippi would love to have special regional pricing because they're the poorest state. But they don't, and they ain't gonna get it either.

And at the end of the day these games, it isn't food or medicine we're discussing and is a luxury. A game is priced too highly, simply don't purchase until a sale or a base price drop.

I’m not demanding charity, I’m pointing out imbalance. If a digital good costs 3–5x more in relative income to someone, and that person is told ‘wait for a sale’ while others get regional pricing tailored to their economies — it’s not about the game, it’s about being treated as an afterthought.
That’s not fairness. That’s systemic laziness disguised as compliance. I'm not asking for special treatment (kinda am). I'm asking for acknowledgement that not every EU citizen lives like one from Luxembourg.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Yeezy Boost 350 V2:

I’m not demanding charity, I’m pointing out imbalance. If a digital good costs 3–5x more in relative income to someone, and that person is told ‘wait for a sale’ while others get regional pricing tailored to their economies — it’s not about the game, it’s about being treated as an afterthought.
That’s not fairness. That’s systemic laziness disguised as compliance. I'm not asking for special treatment (kinda am). I'm asking for acknowledgement that not every EU citizen lives like one from Luxembourg.

blame the EU for having anti-discrimination laws with regards to EU member market access.

Valve cannot do regional prices within the EU without allowing citizens of other EU member states access to the reduced prices.

What did you expect to get, when you voted to join EU? Oh, wait...

Bulgaria is joining the Euro zone next year OP's complaint will become irrelevant as they'll be paying for everything in Euro's anyway after that. Welcome to EU's One Market.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Yeezy Boost 350 V2:

Hey everyone, I’m writing this as a frustrated gamer from Bulgaria. I hope I'm posting this in the right place...

Let me get straight to the point:

Bulgaria pays full Western EU prices for games on Steam, despite having one of the lowest average salaries in the European Union.

A €60 game costs about 2% of a German monthly salary, but around 6–10% of the average Bulgarian monthly income. That means we pay 3–5 times more relatively, just to play the same game.
This isn't about being cheap — it's about fairness.

Steam uses regional pricing for many countries (Turkey, Argentina, India, etc.), adjusting for local purchasing power. But Bulgaria is grouped under the Eurozone, meaning we pay €60 like we live in Berlin or Amsterdam. Except we don’t. Our average income is 3–4 times lower.

I’m not asking for pity. I’m asking why we aren’t given a realistic pricing structure that matches our economy — especially when other countries with even higher inflation or instability get tailored prices.

You don't need to be buying 60 euro games.

I am in the UK and I don't buy 60 euro games.

Sounds a bit entitled if you ask me telling people to drop profits.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Hobbit XIII:

You don't need to be buying 60 euro games.

I am in the UK and I don't buy 60 euro games.

Sounds a bit entitled if you ask me telling people to drop profits.

So what profit are you talking about, if you don't buy games? Not buying means no profits. The user perhaps does not know that the price should be the EU price, because Bulgaria is in EU. No exceptions.

Well, in other countries there are exceptions, so an option could be to move to another country with such exception. As the user said "(Turkey, Argentina, India, etc.)"

Look up lawsuit for geo region blocking for Steam, capcom, and etc.. You can thank the EU for that so no more keys sold at a lower price for those countries that wanted regional pricing in the EU.

Another is not that Steam can't setup store to adjust price in EUR per country in EU, it the fact most of those publishers EA, Ubisoft, Capcom, etc, etc, and etc are just going keep sticking setting one price tag for whole EU, and not going bother.

“Blame EU anti-discrimination law. Valve can’t offer different prices within the EU.”

Cool — so the EU has created a system where treating everyone “equally” actually punishes the poor.
If Bulgaria earns 3x less than Germany, but pays the same price for digital goods, that’s not equality. That’s indifference wrapped in red tape.
Malicious compliance doesn’t make something fair — it just makes it technically legal.

“You voted to join the EU, so you can’t complain.”

First, that’s just petty. Most people alive today didn’t vote on the EU, and a lot of us were kids when Bulgaria joined.
Does that mean we should just smile and accept bad policies forever?

“You’re getting the Euro soon anyway, so shut up.”

Yes, and that just cements the problem, not solves it.
I'm not upset about the currency symbol. I'm upset that I have to pay 3x more out of my salary for the SAME product. I don't get anything more for my relative higher cost.

“Just don’t buy €60 games. I don’t.”

The problem isn’t buying or not buying. The problem is being priced out by default, while others get regionally fair options. I acquire most of my games on a discount, from a third party, in a bundle or by other means.
Also, coming from the UK, where wages are 2–3x ours on average? Bro, you’re from a different tax bracket.

“Publishers don’t care and won’t bother changing it anyway.”

That’s likely true. But should we be quiet about a broken system just because it’s inconvenient to fix?
Games are global now. So is the community. The price tag should reflect that — or at least open up space for solutions.
Examples: regional publisher discounts, flexible VAT, income-based bundle pricing, etc.

If Turkey, Argentina, Poland, Ukraine, etc. can get adjusted prices based on local economics, so should lower-income EU countries — or at least be part of the conversation. Hell, even Russia, Canada, Australia and other more developed countries are getting their games for cheaper. Very few countries have higher prices than the EU zone.
Otherwise, this isn’t the “European Digital Market” — it’s a premium club where I'm allowed in, but can’t afford the drinks.

You're barking up the wrong tree. Valve cannot change EU laws.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Yeezy Boost 350 V2:

“You voted to join the EU, so you can’t complain.”

First, that’s just petty. Most people alive today didn’t vote on the EU, and a lot of us were kids when Bulgaria joined.
Does that mean we should just smile and accept bad policies forever?

I agree, but you see Steam does not decide policies. So, complaining here accomplishes nothing.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย sandokanski:

What did you expect to get, when you voted to join EU? Oh, wait...

To be fair, most countries that voted not to enter the EU had their elections retried and recooked until the vote totals could be claimed to be Yes.