How to Change Your Steam Region (& Not Get Banned)

You’d think regional content restrictions wouldn’t exist in 2022, but they’re alive and kicking — and rage-inducing as ever.

Steam is a digital game distributor, so it has no choice but to play by copyright and distribution laws. As a consequence, you might find that the game you want isn’t available in your country, or you lose access to your games if you move or travel. 

Should you give up and miss out? Absolutely not. I’m going to show you how to change your IP address — easily and safely. 

Steam can’t stop you from living your best life. All you need is CyberGhost VPN.

Access Steam Deals and Games in 3 Easy Steps

Get the best Steam games anytime, from anywhere.

  1. Become a Ghostie. It’s fast and easy!
  2. Pick a server. Take your pick of thousands of IP addresses from all over the world.
  3. Enjoy Steam games!

Before You Change Your Steam Region

Changing your Steam store location is extra easy with CyberGhost VPN, but keep the following in mind to avoid trouble later.

  • You can only change your store region once every three months. Steam implements this to prevent customers from cheating the system. Choose wisely!
  • You must update your billing information to match your new country before you can make a purchase. If you don’t have an address in the country you want to change to, try using a hotel’s address.
  • Don’t change your location to Russia if you don’t have a Russian credit card. Games are unbelievably cheap in that region, but Steam doesn’t like it when you take advantage. If you’re caught attempting to switch to Russia from another country, your account will be disabled.

VPNs are perfectly legal. Even so, using a VPN to bypass regional restrictions and currency regulation is a violation of Steam’s Subscriber Agreement. Breaking Steam’s terms of service may result in your account being terminated. CyberGhost VPN does not support breaching any service agreements, with or without a VPN.

How to Change Your Steam Region with a VPN

Changing your Steam region is as easy as making friends in Animal Crossing. Follow these steps and you’ll access all the games you like — without breaking Steam’s ToS.

  1. Install CyberGhost VPN. We support all your favorite gaming devices, including — but not limited to — PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. We use the fastest protocols for optimal speed and performance, and you get unlimited bandwidth on all plans. 
  1. Connect to a Server. Launch CyberGhost VPN and select a server in your preferred country. We’ve got 7000+ servers in 91 countries for you to choose from. 
  1. Launch Steam. Once CyberGhost VPN is running, go ahead and open Steam. When I tested this method, my currency automatically updated in my browser but not in the Steam desktop app. Don’t panic if your currency hasn’t been updated yet — we’ll get to that in the next step.
  1. Visit the Steam Store but don’t buy anything yet! Simply pick a game you’re interested in and add it to your cart.
  1. Select Your Country and navigate to your cart. Click on the country list above your item(s) — it will open a drop-down list. Choose the same country as the CyberGhost VPN server you’re connected to. 
  1. Set your default country. A pop-up window will appear, letting you set your default country to match your preferred location. This will update your store’s currency and game prices.
  1. Return to your cart. The price will have updated automatically and you can proceed to checkout.
  1. Add Your Billing Info. Add your payment method and billing information. Remember your new billing address must be in the country you’re switching to.

Once you make your purchase, your Steam region will default to your new location. Enjoy your new library!

How VPNs Improve Your Online Game Experience

Beyond changing your Steam region, a VPN can enhance your gameplay too. Here’s how, and why you should choose CyberGhost as your go-to VPN for gaming.

Prevent Cyber Attacks

A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack happens when someone forcefully floods your device or network with false requests to overload it. It can result in your connection slowing to a crawl. These attacks are rapidly growing in popularity — and they can cripple your gaming session.

Likewise, swatting — making false reports to lure armed forces to someone’s residence – is spreading in the gaming community. It can be dangerous, even deadly.

CyberGhost VPN masks your IP address to keep you safe, both online and offline. If cybercriminals (and sore losers) can’t identify your connection, they can’t use it against you.

Protect Your Data

Public Wi-Fi is a godsend if you game on the go, but connecting to open networks without a VPN is risky. Many public networks aren’t secure, so cybercriminals use them as a playground. 

CyberGhost VPN protects your privacy and safeguards your data with uncrackable 256-bit AES encryption. It’s what militaries use to guard their secrets, so cybercriminals don’t stand a chance.

Set CyberGhost VPN to launch automatically when new or open networks are detected, or set Smart Rules of your own. In case of emergency, our Kill Switch automatically shuts off your internet when you lose connection with the VPN.

Bypass ISP Throttling

Have you noticed your internet connection drops at certain times of the day, ruining prime gaming time? Blame your ISP. If they determine you’re using too much bandwidth on gaming or streaming, they’ll purposefully slow you down to lessen the strain on their servers.

We hide your activity from prying eyes. If your ISP can’t see what you’re up to, they can’t interfere with you or your games. Not to mention, you get unlimited bandwidth on all CyberGhost VPN plans. Try it yourself with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Improve Ping

It doesn’t matter how fast your internet connection is, you could still have a high ping. If your ISP chooses a bad route for your connection to the game’s servers, you’ll experience lag. The further you are from your game server, the more infuriating lag will become.

VPNs can establish a more direct connection between you and your game server, removing interferences that increase your ping. Use CyberGhost VPN if you want to try to get a better connection to your game host.

Choose from 7000+ servers in 91 countries and connect to anywhere in the world. We use the fastest, safest server protocols available, including WireGuard®, and you can pick a protocol that suits your needs and speeds the best.

If you have any questions about configuring CyberGhost VPN for gaming, chat to our friendly 24/7 Customer Support team anytime. They’re happy to help.

Get More Games

Most of the games you buy on Steam won’t be region-locked, but you might run into a few limitations. Some games are only playable in the country you purchased them in, and some gifts can only be redeemed within their country of origin. A VPN easily gets you around these restrictions, and you can use one to join international servers too.

Remember, doing so may get your account into trouble, so you need a VPN that won’t sell you out. 

We operate under a strict No Logs policy, and we’re headquartered in Romania, where there aren’t any data-sharing laws we have to submit to. We’ll never monitor, record, or share your activity with anyone, not even authorities.

Using a VPN to protect your identity, prevent cyberattacks, or improve your internet connection does not go against Steam’s terms of service. 

Game On Your Terms

No one should have the right to tell you which games you’re allowed to play. Unfortunately, even gamers are at the mercy of copyright and distribution laws — and Steam is no exception. VPNs let you game your own way, and stay safe online while you’re at it.

If you want to explore a new world of Steam games — and get faster connection speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and uncrackable security — try CyberGhost VPN risk-free with our 45-day money-back guarantee.  

FAQ

Can you switch your Steam region?

Yes, but with a few conditions. Steam uses your IP address to determine your location. If you’re traveling or moving and want to change or keep your account region, you’ll need a VPN to change your IP address. Install CyberGhost VPN to access IP addresses from any location you like.

Keep in mind, Steam only lets you change your region once every three months. You also have to make a purchase to set your new location as your default country. Steam reserves the right to ban your account if you’re caught spoofing to get better deals.

How do I change my Steam location? 

It’s easy, but you’ll need CyberGhost VPN to do it. Launch the CyberGhost app for Windows, macOS, or Linux and connect to a server in the country you want to switch to. Open Steam Store then add a game to your cart and select your new country from there.

Steam will only set your location once you’ve updated your billing details and made a purchase in your new currency. You can find full instructions in our step-by-step guide.

Is changing my Steam region against Steam’s terms of service?

It depends on how and why you want to. If you’re traveling, or you relocated, you’re at full liberty to update your location to match the country you’re in. That said, location spoofing by any means to get cheaper deals is against Steam’s ToS and may result in account termination.

Get CyberGhost to hide your activity and protect your Steam account against various threats. Our No Logs policy guarantees we don’t track or store your data. Check out our quarterly Transparency Report to see how we enforce it.

What are the benefits of using a VPN with Steam?

CyberGhost VPN has a variety of benefits — for gaming and beyond. Use our VPN to curate your Steam store and protect your profile. We encrypt all your data to keep you safe from DDoS attacks, swatting, and other cyberattacks.

You’ll also stay protected on public Wi-Fi, so you can enjoy playing online games anywhere. Get all these perks and more with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

What is the best VPN for online gaming?

CyberGhost VPN has a number of features gamers will love. We use the fastest protocols to keep our VPN running at optimal efficiency — and to give you the highest speeds and best performance. 

Using CyberGhost VPN could also improve your ping. Pick a server close to your game server, and we’ll virtually place you within perfect range of it. Not to mention you get unlimited bandwidth on all plans — and a ton of uncrackable security features to keep you safe in-game.

Leave a comment

Is it possible to disable the VPN after you made your payment?

Reply

Hi Adrian,
You can certainly disable your VPN once you’ve paid for your games, but it might not be a good idea.
Steam usually turns a blind eye when players use VPNs for security or to get around region locks, but purchasing cheaper games could result in account termination.
This is why you’ll have to change your Steam Store region, and can’t change back for at least 3 months.
We recommend keeping your VPN running while using Steam to protect your account. Remember to connect to a server in the country you want to change your Steam location to.

Hi. I forgot to update my payment adress bills before I bought funds. I’m very worried about if I will get banned. Because Instead of buying the game, I tried to buy fund and i see that they have to check it and accept it. Do you think i should cancel it immediately? And as i said i forgot changing address. It’s not matching with the current county that I set with

Reply

Hi Ali, I don’t think you have anything to worry about! This is taken from Steam’s website:
“If your location differs from your current Steam account store country setting you’ll have an option to change your store region while you view your cart or as you complete your purchase”
Simply put, Steam only sets new your region once you have made a purchase in your new currency. If you changed the location to browse games but didn’t buy anything, your account is still set to it’s original location, and therefore won’t be flagged.
If you’d like to buy games from a different region, follow the steps in the tutorial and add your new billing information as prompted. Your Steam Wallet should update automatically, but remember you can only change your region once every three months.

Cacacan I send a steam email gift card to a military man in Syria, and can it be used for more than gaming?

Reply

Hi Linda, thanks for your question.
Unfortunately, Steam is unavailable in Syria due to U.S. sanctions, so please be careful — this might be a scam.
Steam has a few regulations you should keep in mind. To purchase a digital gift card for someone else, they must have a Steam account, and you must be friends with each other on Steam for a minimum of 3 days. If the recipient has specifically requested you send a voucher code via email, please see it as a red flag.
As for your second question, Steam gift cards are only redeemable in the Steam Store, and can be exchanged for games, software, and game soundtracks – as well as the Steam Deck in countries where it’s available.

Do this tutorial consider the restriction with the payment method that doesn’t allows paying with cards registered out of the target country u want to change to?

Reply

Hi Jose, thank you for the question. In some cases, if your IP address and Steam Store location don’t match, you might not be able to purchase anything. This is to prevent credit card fraud, in case your credit card or card details are stolen. Here are a few ways you could get around it:

  • ️Make sure your card is authorized for international purchases. Keep in mind, if you update your card for foreign transactions, you may incur extra fees while shopping.
  • ️Try using a different payment method, if any are available in your country.
  • ️If all else fails, purchase a Steam digital voucher for your account before following the steps in the tutorial. Your Steam wallet will carry your credits over, and automatically update the currency to match your new Store location.
  • How can i turn back to my original country before 3 months wait

    Reply

    Hi Demos, unfortunately there is no way around this. Once you change your Steam region, you’ll have to wait 3 months before you can switch back, whether or not you’ve used a VPN. (edited)

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