Mehmet Dumanoğlu: It is too early to reach a definitive judgment on how this will affect Turkish gamers

In October 2014, a development occurred that delighted Turkish gamers: Steam, one of the world's largest digital game sales platforms, would begin selling games in Turkish Lira; moreover, the exchange rate was set at 1.5 TL to the Dollar.

Beyond simplifying credit card purchases, this type of localization also allowed publishers selling their games on Steam to set their own pricing. The importance of this localization became even more apparent as the gap between the Turkish Lira and the US Dollar widened. For example, a game's $30 retail price was not directly multiplied by the current exchange rate; instead, it was offered in the store at a price the publisher deemed more appropriate for Turkey, perhaps at a sales figure of 30 TL. When combined with Steam's significant discounts, this special localization made Steam an extremely accessible source of games for Turkish players.

However, it was announced in late October that Steam would end its TL support as of November 20. This "switch to the Dollar" move, which also applies to Argentina and Turkey, left gamers deeply concerned. With the Dollar exchange rate approaching 29 TL, the prospect of a $60 game appearing before players with a price tag of approximately 1800 TL indicated that a very difficult period was beginning for gamers.

The fact that publishers could set their own pricing on Steam provided a glimmer of hope. It was quite possible to set a price of $3.5 for a game that previously sold for 100 TL, but all game publishers needed to re-price their titles, and it was unclear whether they would do so.

While 15 days have passed since Steam began selling in Dollars, the changes in the prices of some popular games have been reflected in the store as follows:

* Prices are approximate and based on the Dollar exchange rate on November 30, 2023.

While it is possible to expand the list, the new prices of notable games are reflected in the lists as shown in the table. Looking at the general picture, the high increase in the prices of independent games, in particular, is striking.

Oyunfor General Manager Mehmet Dumanoğlu notes that while large increases were observed in some games during the automatic pricing process during the transition from TL to Dollars, Crytek, famous for Crysis, made an important move by reducing the Crytek Action Pack—which includes all Crysis games, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Hunt: Showdown—to $16, making it an accessible package despite its original price of around $70.

Mehmet Dumanoğlu states that it is still too early to reach a definitive judgment on how this transition on Steam will affect Turkish gamers. All game publishers, large and small, will examine the sales charts of their games in Turkey after this transition and make updates to their game prices. However, considering the constantly updating Dollar exchange rate, and even though the price adjustments publishers are attempting to make may seem reasonable, Steam currently appears to have lost its former appeal for Turkish gamers. Epic Games, which offers TL support, could take the right steps to attract Turkish gamers to its platform.