Dear Bethesda Softworks;

Hello!

Sorry to bother You, but I believe there is no official statement yet from You to explain if there are regional restrictions (or not) for TES V in steam, despite there are only 23 days to the game to be put on sale.

I think there are many people who would also like to know about this, and since this is the BS official forum (and probably the best way to communicate directly with the fans), I humble request if You can give us some information on this subject, please, in order to avoid too much speculation and to complement the information about steam already available and pinned in Skyrim sub-forum.

1. Let's say I want to pre-order and buy from a UK website a retail version of Skyrim. Can I activate it on Steam if I live in Portugal?

2. Let's say I pre-order Skyrim on Steam right now from the United States, but by November 11th I will be in Russia. Will I be able to play Skyrim in Russia?

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards from lms919, old client and a big fan of TES series.

p.s.: Sorry for my english and grammar, is not my native language.

http://www.gamesas.com/eng/contact.php. I would suggest asking them directly. You could try contacting GStaff (who frequents this forum) and he may possibly assist.

We wrote this for the pinned FAQ, but it wasn't included. This is possibly because the region-locking is either still being determined or unknown by Bethesda Softworks (only by Zenimax the publisher.) However, it errs on the side of caution so if you don't get a reply I would suggest to follow this.

• Can I buy Skyrim on a physical DVD on the internet from any retailer's site in the world, such as if I want Skyrim in a different language than is commonly spoken in the country I live in?
  
  It isn't recommended to do this. Steam has the ability to enforce http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1687648, which means that a disc or activation code purchased in one country may not work in another country, depending on the game publisher's policies. Steam uses your computer's IP address to determine which country you are connecting from. At this time, there is no official information available on whether Skyrim is region-locked, or what the Steam regions are. So, to prevent any possibility of being http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/09/Steam_regional_limitation.PNG, it is recommended to either purchase Skyrim directly through Steam, or from a retail shop in the country you will be playing Skyrim in, or from an online retailer verified to be in the country you'll be playing Skyrim in, such as from amazon.co.uk only if you live in the UK.

It probably wasn't included because that answer is bad. Rage bought on amazon.co.uk works perfectly in the rest of the Europe for example.

Many thanks for your suggestions, kind Sir. :foodndrink:

Meanwhile, if someone would also like to follow me on my humble request about this subject, please feel free to say so in this thread, with the best of your politeness. Thanks. :tops:

As explained, erring on the side of caution can't go wrong. Since you know better, feel free to write one that isn't "bad" then.

I mean, they cannot include it on the FAQ like that and make it "official". As a user, you can say "don't do this because we don't know if you'll be able to activate that game". As Bethesda itself, them saying that is weird. Are they saying officially that they don't know how it'll work? Are they saying they know it'll not work?

If they know the answer to that question, it's ok to put in an official FAQ. If they don't it's bad to put it

But this is exactly the problem. It is less than a month until release and this information would be very useful for many of us. Lots of people have already pre-ordered UK or US versions because they don't feel to be forced to play in one specific language forced on them due to their region. Additionally, previous experiences did make it possible to play UK version in Germany (as one example). So, it would be a huge help if anyone could at least give us some reliable information - so that those who pre-ordered may still have the chance to cancel it - or those of us who still haven't pre-ordered because of these doubts, to finally do so.
I'm certainly one of those who wants to play the game in English and it doesn't quite get into my head how or why I am not allowed to do so in a world where many things are international and English basically a world-wide language.
I'm not sure how long a company will be able on such a decision, but I somehow doubt it can be made in the last 24 hours before release.

Steam's region locking is due to complicated copyright infringement law and restrictions on sales per country. It's not Steam just deciding "nope, we don't want to give you an english version in Russia". They are a business and they want to sell as many copies as possible.

These locks are different for every country so there is no blanket answer for you, and it's not really on Bethesda to provide you that info, since it's available already through Steam. Just sign up for an account (it's free) and check what restrictions are in your area.

As I said, it worked with Rage so go for it (unless you are in Russia and friends where it's likely to not work!). If the game refuses to add itself to your Steam account, you can ask for a refund for a defective product then.

Not sure why if it isn't known then they can't put "this is not currently known..." There have been probably ten threads this week over it, so it's worthwhile to at least get mentioned.

The reason it was written the way it was is just in case the region-locking was even more aggressive. It's pretty well-known that so far it appears EU is one region with UK activations being usable elsewhere in it, but what if that changed? We don't know, and it's out of our hands, so the safest bet is to buy as locally as possible.

We're running in circles here. It's about would, or could... but I just reached a point where I don't consider that good enough.
Additionally, yes, I am a little frustrated, because I did my best to address every possible channel to get some kind of information and in some cases was simply ignored. And I just don't think, that nobody at Bethesda knows the answer to this question or at least knows who knows.
Now, the point is, if they would give us something definite to work with - even if it was something like "We will be able to answer this question one week before release." or "We are currently still estimating the possibilities in accordance to the local laws." I would be ok with it, but we are constantly left in the dark. We are left to guess, gamble or are simply forced to put up with this issue and that is what is getting to me.

With all due respect, you have ignored responses that address your issue.

Bethesda is not affiliated with Steam. They are employing their services, yes, but they do not have any 'insider info'. The information you're requesting needs to come from Steam.

Besides this point, you have not specified your location. The restrictions are different depending upon the country in which you live.

Please do not use this forum to soapbox what you feel is a moral or ethical business issue. This is a forum to talk about the game. If your issue is solely one of dissatisfaction with Bethesda's decision to use Steam, there are already threads associated with that.

Actually I have specified all those things in other posts and simply refrained from doing it here. Additionally, I did send the question to Steam, who then said they didn't know. I also followed other advices, such as contacting local stores, writing the Bethesda support and so on. It all led to nothing.
I also never said that I had an issue with Steam or the fact that Bethesda decided to work with them. I have, until this point, made rather good experiences with Steam - and that is why I wonder about the possible restrictions suddenly laid down on us. And besides that, having a question or an issue that will influence my decision where to buy or how to buy the game is something "about the game".
As for responses to my named issue - what are you exactly referring to? That I should just buy my local version and deal with the mess? That I should just buy the UK version because the chances are good that it'll work? Or that I could use the semi-legal option of trying a way around with 'pretending' my IP is in the UK?
I've taken all those things into consideration but it does not change the fact that I would like some clear answers before I waste money on a game that I cannot play due to possible region locks.

My goal with this thread has nothing to do with it.
In fact, I can only speak for myself, but I confess that I don't dislike Steam, if that is the only way that BS find to combat piracy and patch their game "on the fly". Mas this is off-topic.

On Topic: I believe there is nothing official yet in Skyrim steam page and steam forum relative to regional restrictions (languages or not), I can be wrong. Besides, I will buy retail versions of Skyrim, not digital ones.




Precisely my problem and to many other customers, I believe.

I see. You refrained from specifying in your original post that you are talking about purchasing a physical copy of the game. I apologize, I inferred from your post that you would be downloading it from them.

So your question is whether or not restrictions from Steam will be enforced on a physical copy?

My assumption would be the physical copy makes no difference- it has been confirmed by others you need only put in a CD key from your copy and Steam will allow you to download it from them. Therefore, the only restrictions in place would be any Steam has in your country. The CD keys aren't restricted to certain countries- they're randomly distributed in the boxes. So you can buy a physical copy from literally anywhere, the key will still work with YOUR version of Steam.

I hope this helps.

While on the topic of region locking, what would happen in this scenario:

Say I pre order Skyrim on Steam right now from the United States, but by November 11th I will be in Russia. Will I be able to play Skyrim in Russia? Thanks.

Actual - I'm not decided what to do or where to buy the game, because question concerns either option. If Steam said that I could the language feature, I would buy it there. If someone said: you can buy the UK version and it still works in Germany, I would pre-order it there. Or if I was told that my local store has the game and I could adjust the language, I would buy it here. My only question is what possibility and options I have to be able to play my game in English, despite being in Germany. I have no issue with Steam or Bethesda, other than not getting any information at all.

And while I would usually just get my UK game, there have been rumors that the region locks might stricter and leave us with an unusable game. I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes or annoy people, but I just don't have the luxury of buying both games and just try to figure out which one works.

Again, you're ignoring what I told you.

The language restriction will be through whatever Steam account you currently hold, as you will be downloading the game from them, using the cd key from the physical copy. So whatever restrictions you have now with your Steam account will apply.

tldr: can you play games in english on Steam today? Then you should be able to play Skyrim in english.

Thank YOU for your question, kind Sir. With your permission, I will add it to the opening post, yes?