Arqade Asked by IBG on May 1, 2021
I’m currently living in Japan. These are the games that I want to buy but for some reason (publisher’s discretion?) is not available:
Is there any legal way to obtain the games? I’ve read that using VPN may cause a ban since it’s a way to bypass restrictions and possibly get the game cheaper, but I’m not in it for the cheaps, because they’re completely not in the store. If say, I have a friend from a region where these games are available, can I let him buy the game as a gift and give it to me? Would I be able to download it?
It actually happened to me. There was the full Commandos collection in Steam sales and I couldn't get it because it is not available in Germany (I guess why :/).
I told a (good) friend and he gifted it to me out of the blue. The games are in my library and I can download them. I guess if you don't abuse this it should be ok, but I cannot guarantee it as this is my personal experience so far.
EDIT: So, according the comments, it's important to check the properties of the game in some service like SteamDB, because it could lead to not being able to download a game in certain moment. Example:
Thanks a lot BulliedByMods for the clarifications.
Correct answer by Puce on May 1, 2021
Update additional to Puce's answer. After hours of research, here is 'theoretical way' to determine state of your target game.
TL;DR: Use steamdb.info to confirm package's information, if AllowCrossRegionTradingAndGifting not set to No, your friend might be able to gift that game for you. (Provided that app information does not restrict downloading or playing that game in your region)
Technically speaking, steam organizes its store that there are "APP" and "PACKAGE". APP is the game itself, PACKAGE is the way to obtain it. (Buying from webstore/CD-KEY etc) APP itself has no price property set, price properties are set in PACKAGEs.
There are several flags related to region locking:
Note: We are not taking VPN/Proxy or price tier restriction into consideration, that is another topic.
Take Evenicle as example: https://steamdb.info/app/955560/info/
Below is the screenshot to its PACKAGE info.
Result for this game:
Answered by Wappenull on May 1, 2021
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