How to Change Your Region on Steam Safely

Understanding the Risks of Changing Steam Region

Steam verifies your location by checking your payment method. When you attempt to change your region, you must provide a valid payment method tied to the new country to prove your actual location. If the payment method doesn’t match, Steam can reject the request or flag your account for suspicious activity. Additionally, Steam explicitly prohibits the use of VPNs or any other tools to bypass regional settings.

What Can Happen:

• Steam may temporarily or permanently ban your account
• You risk losing access to your purchased games and Steam Wallet balance
• You could face challenges restoring account privileges

The Legal Way to Change Your Region on Steam

Steam allows you to change your region legitimately if you have moved to a new country. The process is simple but requires proof, such as a payment method tied to your new location.

• Steps to change your region legally:
• Open the Steam Client and log in to your account
• Go to Account Details under your Steam account settings
• Update your payment method with one linked to your new country (e.g., a local credit card or digital wallet)
• Once you update your payment method, Steam will detect your new location and prompt you to update your store region
• Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the region update

How People Change Their Region on Steam (with a VPN)

While we strongly advise against this method due to the risks involved, many users still attempt to change their region on Steam using a VPN. It’s important to note that this approach violates Steam’s Terms of Service and puts your account at risk of penalties, including bans or loss of access to your games. While VPNs offer anonymity and regional access, this method will never be risk-free.

How to Change Your Steam Shop Region Using a VPN

• Choose a Reliable VPN (see recommendations below)
• Connect to a VPN server in the desired region (e.g., a country with lower game prices)
• Launch the Steam Client and log in to your account
• Open the Steam Store—it should reflect the currency and prices of the VPN location
• Update your payment method to one compatible with that region by using a credit or debit card issued by a bank in the region you’re switching to or a region-specific digital payment method (e.g., PayPal accounts set up in that country)
• Restart Steam to ensure the changes take effect
• After changing your region, you can purchase games by using Steam gift cards, gifting games from a secondary account based in Turkey, or pre-loading funds into your Steam Wallet before the change to ensure they convert to the new region's currency

How to Prevent Steam Shop Reversion

• Avoid selling items on the Steam Community Market
• Do not refund or return any games 
• Always connect to Turkish VPN servers when buying games

Top VPNs for Changing Your Region on Steam

When considering changing your Steam region, it's crucial to choose a VPN that offers robust security, a wide server network, and reliable performance. Here's an overview of four VPN providers and their suitability for this purpose:

PureVPN

PureVPN boasts a vast server network with over 6,000 servers in 80+ countries, providing users with numerous options for changing their Steam region. It offers features like split tunneling, a kill switch, and robust encryption protocols, ensuring secure and private connections. PureVPN's recent integration with Ivacy has further expanded its capabilities, making it a comprehensive solution for users seeking to alter their online location.

Change Regions Securely With PureVPN!

ExpressVpn

ExpressVPN operates a vast network of servers across 100+ countries, ensuring high-speed connections and reliable access to various regions. Its robust security measures and consistent performance make it a popular choice among users seeking to access content from different locations. 

Stay Fast, Stay Private With ExpressVPN

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is known for its user-friendly interface and extensive server network, boasting over 9,000 servers in 90+ countries. This vast selection allows users to connect to servers in specific regions, facilitating the process of changing your Steam location. Additionally, CyberGhost offers optimized servers for streaming and gaming, ensuring fast speeds and minimal latency, which is beneficial when accessing region-specific content on Steam.

Unlock Secure Gaming Access With CyberGhost!

ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is recognized for its strong focus on security and privacy, offering features like Secure Core and a strict no-logs policy. With servers in over 60 countries, it provides ample options for users looking to change their Steam region. However, it's worth noting that ProtonVPN's free plan has limitations, and access to the full server network requires a paid subscription. While ProtonVPN offers reliable performance, some users have reported occasional connection issues, which could impact activities like gaming on Steam.

Enjoy Secure Region-Switching With ProtonVPN

Conclusion

Changing your Steam region may seem like a tempting solution to access regional discounts or unlock games not available in your area. However, it’s important to remember that using VPNs or other unofficial methods to bypass Steam’s regional restrictions violates their Terms of Service. While it isn’t technically illegal, it puts your account at serious risk of penalties, including bans, loss of game access, or restricted privileges.

The legitimate way to change your region—updating your payment method with one tied to your new country of residence—remains the safest and only risk-free method. It ensures compliance with Steam’s policies while protecting your account from unnecessary issues.

While top VPNs like PureVPN, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and ProtonVPN offer strong performance, security, and global servers, using them to change your Steam region is not without consequences. If you choose to use these tools, proceed with caution and understand the risks involved.