X-Com is region locked, BL2-esque saga continues

[neon25]

Just my effin luck- X-com just got region locked and I can't play it >_<

I won the game on steamgifts from a LEGIT user who is my real-life friend. Now I can just do nothing about it.

The funny thing is, this must have happened today or yesterday, because I launched the game briefly on the 9th via US VPN and it launched, now it just says that the game was activated with a code (lolno, it was a effin legit steam gift) tied to a specific region, and I'm not in that region so I can't play.



Another 2K title. Perhaps they'll do a nice thing and unlock it like they did with BL2. Time to contact the media again I guess, since there is no information about the region lock on the game's page, neither EU, US or RU.

I expect a 2K PR person to reply to this, otherwise the BL2 saga of region-locked LEGIT STEAM GIFTS will continue.

[laffles]

This has happened to me too. I am very upset! this needs fixing

[JamesX]

Contact Steam Support and tell them it was a gift? Maybe they can do something about it.

[neon25]

Nope. The only thing they can do is remove it from my gamelist.

The only thing I can do is stare at it while it blatantly lies it's "ready to play" :/

[laffles]

have you contacted steam? is that what they said?

[neon25]

I haven't contacted the Steam support yet, but it is known that's the only thing they do. Just google it, it happened countless times. The same happened with Borderlands 2 and 2K issued an apology. The region lock is up to the publisher (2K) and not Steam.

[JamesX]

When removed from game list does your friend get the Gift back?

[neon25]

Nope, you don't.

[laffles]

This is total ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺. 2K you need to fix this

[ArchLich]

Why can't developers do this before releasing a game?

I am in the unlucky position of owning a copy which I have played for 11 hrs but can no longer access. I didn't have the money for Dishonored and XCOM, bought one and traded for the other (with tf2 items) on Steam. Now I get screwed over because there was no region locking at the time of trading. Hurray.

[xruiner89]

So so angry right now.

[neon25]

I already contacted RockPaperShotgun, if there are any redditors here please upvote this submission to spread awareness of the issue.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comme...d_region_lock/

[Ndition]

Definitely the last time I'm going to accept a firaxis/2k game as a gift through steam.

[Nomek]

same here....

[Ibex3050]

Have the same thing,

[neon25]

Civilization V that was a bonus for the preorder is also region locked now, can't even install it.

[banido]

I got it as a steam gift, didn't know it was going to be region blocked.

Makes you wonder why Steam has the features of TRADING and GIFTING games if companies are gonna screw us like this.

Next time block the games from trading or gifting before screwing us.

[DazzD]

I got it as a steam gift, didn't know it was going to be region blocked.

Makes you wonder why Steam has the features of TRADING and GIFTING games if companies are gonna screw us like this.

Next time block the games from trading or gifting before screwing us.

So steam allows you to gift the game but then doesn't let you play it because of region lock?! If that is the case then I totally agree with you guys, gifting on steam is very broken. If it will not let you play the game then it should never allow you to accept the gift in the first place.

[neon25]

It was not region-locked until the newest patch. I launched it briefly(1 minute) on the 9th using a US VPN (I'm from Europe) just to see if it runs. You can see it in the screen above.

[laffles]

exactly^ it is ridiculous. Even though 2k are totally encouraging piracy with this retarded region locking

Steam trading just very much at fault here, it shouldn't have been tradable to someone in a region where the game is unplayable

[Nomek]

It wasn't steam fault. You think that steam guys knew that k2 is so retarded to give this region lociking with the last patch? I dont think so...

[jelf]

It wasn't steam fault. You think that steam guys knew that k2 is so retarded to give this region lociking with the last patch? I dont think so...

Publisher can request a region lock. But it's steam that enforces it.

[scaramonga]

The locking down of the Civ V copy also is utterly disgraceful! You should be ashamed of yourselves 2k!! You have now lost my money, that I was going to spend on X-COM tomorrow, so ask yourselves, was this childish action really worth it?

And you wonder why people choose to pirate?

Bad practice 2k.

[banido]

Steam simply follows the orders.

If companies want to region block games this is not the way to do it on Steam.

2K should restrict their games from being traded or gifted to someone in a different region. Not restrict them AFTER everyone already has the game added to their account.

At the very least lock the game from being added to the library in the first place. NOT AFTER it was added.

2K keeps the money from the game and I can't play it because it was bought somewhere else.
Way to go into the spirit of trading and gifting 2K, way to go. If you don't like it, get out of steam then.

[Valok]

If I'm mistaken feel free to correct me, but..

Not a single word about this was given before release, they better have a really good excuse for doing so.. Sorry 2k but this is one hell of a good way to get your game pirated.

[laffles]

I guess^

Worst part is 2k gets to keep the money and the 'sale' and we are stuck with nothing. It's daylight robbery, so sickening and unjust !

[Jasmine Moldovia]

if people were legitimately gifted this game and now can't play because of a region lock...I wonder if this is an issue that should be refunded, or if a lawsuit could fix this...

[Geokinesis]

So this happened only to those who got the game gifted?

Or has it also happened to those who unlocked early with a VPN?

(Not a PC user just curious.)

[DaJackel]

I traded for my copy using the official steam trading, was able to activate it, was able to play 4 hours and NOW it's blocked?
This is ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺. Utter ☺☺☺☺ing ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺.

I understand region locking, what I don't understand or agree with is locking it AFTER you've been allowed to redeem it. That's just wrong.

[Spawnn82]

It was by Steam gift with me. I've traded some tf2 keys with a russian seller and 2k , at the time, didn't said that russian versions would be locked.

Then...they send their first patch to make it region lock...

Nice business practice right there.

[hatchet]

Signed up to add a pronounced "boooooooooooo hisssssssssssss" to the discussion of this region locking nonsense. I am in the US and received the game through a Steam gift, and am now locked out post-patch and unable to use the game. Very extremely unhappy with the policy put forth in this patch. It's obvious from this treatment that you can care nothing for my thoughts, but I'll volunteer anyway that I am the sort who does keep track of the publishers I buy games from, and this has certainly made stinky and repellent your reputation with me.

[chakane048]

It's all your fault, you agreed the Subscriber Agreement, didn't you? Be grateful to me for not terminating your account.

Surely we know the regional lockout, we actually implemented this into Couter-Strike ever since Steam was released, which was 9 years ago. We're just pretending innocent so you can't blame us lol. and we have plenty of people like #21, volunteeringly free.

Sorry, maybe it will take 18 teams of engineers and 6 years to get a regional notification before adding for ya gamers, keep on waiting!

or you may just UNINSTALL Steam now. We know you can't lololol.

[rhazer]

I can't believe they have done this 2 days after releasing the game. I traded for it, installed it, played it for 10 hours, updated it, and now it tells me I can no longer play as the game is region locked. What a crock. I mean this is AWFUL!!!!! Unlock the damn game, you are going to force people to pirate this!

[Hellor]

This exact same thing has happened to me!
Lost access, played for almost two hours yesterday only to find out I can't play anymore.
Traded someone for it over steam, and now I can't play Civ 5 or XCOM.

Ugh...
I hope they do something, otherwise I'm out a good bit of money.

[xruiner89]

Chances on this being fixed?

[dasregal]

Dear 2K,

I really love the game that Firaxis made here. I've been a big evangelist about it. I started playing it at midnight on Tuesday and stayed up til 2 a.m. enjoying the amazing, quality product you made here. According to Steam, I played 16 hours -- until you locked me out of it today.

I didn't obtain a code to get this game (unlike what the error says): I traded for a gift of it on Steam with another user. You see, I couldn't afford a fresh copy, so I figured I could trade some stuff and get the game that way (I'm unemployed, looking for work). I found someone else who was willing to (I thought) help me out.

I was so happy when I unpacked it. I was given no warning that I'd received the wrong regional version of the game and would be unable to play it as such. It was without a second thought that I booted up the game on the cusp of Tuesday expected it to work, and it did.

Today I did the same thing after going for a walk around my apartment complex, but I was greeted with an error about owning it in the wrong region (and that if I want to play it again, it'll have to be from that region). Whatever region my game is for, I will probably never visit.

Now, I'm locked out of the game I gave up my resources to obtain through legitimate methods (Steam Trading). I have no way to get another copy. I can't afford one -- that's why I traded with it to begin with. But not only am I less the game now, I'm less the stuff I traded to get this now inaccessible copy.

I'm lower than I started, you have received money from the game from the user who traded it to me, and I'm very unhappy.

This is extremely unfair. Steam never should've let me trade for a game I can't use AND it shouldn't have let me unpack that game without warning that I wouldn't be able to use it. And for this to be changed days after I've started to enjoy it -- it feels like the ultimate bait and switch.

I know I'm not blameless (I've been told I should've paid more attention to what I was trading for), but I feel like I don't hold the brunt of the blame here. I can't buy region-locked copies through Steam's interface, so why can I trade for them? I shouldn't be able to redeem a CD key for an incorrect region, so why can I open a gift for one?

I want to keep playing X-Com badly, but I literally cannot afford another copy in addition to what I've already sacrificed. Please rethink how you're affecting us. We are loyal, paying customers who were hurt by Steam's carelessness. You have a chance to do right by us, please take it. If you do, I'll always remember this favor whenever I'm thinking about buying one of your games in the future.

Thanks.

[xruiner89]

Well said dasregal, i suggest you send that to both 2K support and Steam support.

[cheeley]

So I purchased XCOM:EU steam key from GreenManGaming in the UK, and I believe the key was for the ROW version. I am in the ROW, but not in the UK (I'm in NZ at the moment). Am I going to get shafted??

[Tsurupettan]

I am very disappointed in the actions that 2K has taken to lock out legitimate users of their games so many days after the launch of the game because of having received their keys and activated them (which wasn't regionlocked eg. XCOM Enemy Unknown (RU) PrePurchase) via the Steam gift system. I hope this could be rectified and the lock revoked so that 2K games do not start building a poor reputation with their customers. I applaud 2K's way of handling similar situations with BL2 and hope they could do the same here.

[laffles]

I know I'm not blameless (I've been told I should've paid more attention to what I was trading for)

No sir, you are COMPLETELY blameless. the game in the trade window is 'XCOM' there's no way you could have known otherwise.

2K need to do the right thing and fix this.