Gamers are already stressing over the prospect of spending $70 or $80 on Horizon Forbidden West (depending on which edition they plan to get) next week, but that’s nothing compared to the price people have to pay for the PC port of Horizon Zero Dawn around the world. Sony has tripled the regional prices of Guerilla Games’ 2017 blockbuster on Steam to match the exorbitant prices of other PlayStation games.
Resetera user AshenOne shared a chart from SteamDB Friday showing that the price for Horizon Zero Dawn has doubled in some countries, and even tripled in others. In the US, for example, the price doubled from $24.99 to $49.99, while in Ukraine the price nearly tripled from 354₴ (Ukrainian Hryvnia) to 999₴.
“This was the first and only Sony game on PC to feature well done regional pricing by the company on STEAM but now it’s over the moon now regionally,” AshenOne said. “If you’re from these other regions and hadn’t purchased Zero Dawn till now then your luck just ran out.”
Commenters balked at the price increases for the game in the countries affected, with some saying that Sony’s anti-consumer practice will increase piracy in developing countries. “The price for Argentina is ridiculous, and there’s a 65% extra on top of that in taxes,” said Mark It Zero!
Horizon Zero Dawn is not the only PlayStation game to experience the regional price hike, however. Bend Studios’ Days Gone has seen more or less the same increase in regional pricing to match other games such as God of War and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
Most games usually become cheaper over a year after release in order to incentivize people who couldn’t afford them at launch to give them a try. Sony appears to be doing the opposite with 5-year-old Horizon Zero Dawn, making it more expensive for players living in regions with a higher cost of living.
