Steam will raise the prices for Melty Blood: Type Lumina in Argentina and Turkey. This price change will only affect those two regions, as well as the PC version of the game. According to Steam’s announcement on its community page, this is due to suspicious purchases made over the course of 2023. [Thanks, KaroshiMyriad!]
To summarize the statement, Steam originally did not increase regional prices for the game out of fear that it would unfairly impact players in Argentina and Turkey in particular. However, even though there has been an increase in Melty Blood: Type Lumina sales from those two regions, there has not been an increase in players who actually live there. As a result, Valve deduced that users outside of Argentina and Turkey are changing their region in Steam to purchase the game for less money.
In the community post, Steam also explained that it had no other choice but to increase the price of the game in those two regions due to so many taking advantage of the cost difference. The company ended the note by apologizing to those in the affected countries but asked for their understanding.
For reference, as of the time of writing, $1 (USD) equates to around 350 ARS. Responses to the change on Twitter and Steam Community have been very understanding. One user who responded to the post noted that several YouTubers and online gaming guides had been recommending readers change their Steam region to Argentina. Thanks to the currency differences, this then allowed users to buy many games for less money. Unfortunately, this method negatively impacts those in Argentina more than those outside of it.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina is now available on the PS4, Xbox One, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch.
