EU Investigating Ending Region Locks On Digital Goods

The European Union is in the preliminary stages of drafting a Digital Single Market strategy, that will make region locking, particularly for digital goods, illegal. Excited? You might want to hold on to that enthusiasm for a minute.

The Digital Single Market is an extension of the idea of the Single Market, which what allows any resident of any member of the EU to buy and sell goods and services anywhere else in the EU. The EU wants to bring this rule to digital services, including games, movie rentals, etc.

If the European Union pushes through with these plans, the consequences for games would be enormous. Region locking, as Nintendo implements on their consoles, would be rendered illegal, prodding them to drop it completely. Subsequently, regional pricing on both GOGcom and Steam would need to be freed up, in such a way that, say, an Italian can buy a German priced copy of Hotline Miami 2 if they wanted to.

However, it could go deeper than that, as the changes to regional pricing rules on Steam and similar marketplaces could also affect the reseller market. Companies like G2A could either sink or swim, depending on how these rules are implemented and what exceptions are available.

On a macro level, this could affect the distribution of games in Europe completely. If developers find the new rules make bringing their games to the region unprofitable, Europe may soon see itself missing out on many games.

For the moment, it’s not clear how the EU even plans to enforce these rules. It would require they coerce all countries in the union to change their laws, and that their neighbors help them enforce said rules.

What do you make of this news? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.