Steam began to restrict access to accounts of Ukrainians who tried to purchase the limited version of Steam Deck through the American region. The platform does not just refuse to sell the device, but completely blocks the account. This was announced by video blogger Rendaros on his page in X (formerly Twitter).
The problem is related to the purchase of the limited edition Steam Deck OLED , with increased storage to 1 TV, updated screen and design. Officially, the system is only available for purchase in the US and Canada. However, this did not prevent those who wanted to buy a device from another region, for example, Ukraine and Poland. In addition to Ukrainian users, Steam also blocks accounts from Poland that buy devices for them, reporting a violation of the terms of the Steam Service Agreement.
“Another interesting thing is that all the Polish accounts of a friend who bought decks from Poland for Ukrainians were also banned. He bought ordinary soundboards with an old screen. We are waiting for Valve to start sending agents to countries where there should not be a Steam Deck, to eliminate the owners and take away the decks.”
– writes Rendaros.
Apparently, this is how Steam tries to combat the phenomenon of console repurchases. The platform perceives any attempts to manipulate regions as fraudulent activity and blocks the account involved in it.
What to do if the account was blocked due to a change of region?
Limited access to the account means that the user continues to have access to purchased games, but will no longer be able to update them or purchase new ones. The only way to return such an account is to appeal to technical support and prove that you have not committed any violations on the Steam platform.
