Can I gift a Steam game to someone in another country?

Problem this solves

You want to send a game to someone in another country, but the gift route is blocked or checkout changes the price.

What you can do afterward

Choose the applicable route, inspect remaining product restrictions and document an unexplained checkout difference before paying.

Choose the relevant gift route

Valve changed gifting on 22 July 2026. Its announcement adds game purchases through guest checkout and email delivery. For a friend in a higher-priced region, Steam describes matching that higher price at checkout; this route requires the recipient to be on your Steam friends list. Email gifts require the recipient to live in your country, cannot be scheduled, and are automatically refunded if unaccepted after 30 days. Shared-wishlist purchases can prefill the intended recipient. [1]

Guest checkout describes how the purchaser checks out; it does not identify which regional rules apply to the gift. Keep those questions separate. The current Gifts FAQ’s walkthrough still centers on friend-list purchases, so use the dated announcement for the added routes and the FAQ for the product checks below.

Check the exact game and recipient

Steam’s Gifts FAQ lists several independent blockers: the recipient already owns the game, DLC requires its base game, certain titles cannot be gifted, and personalized collection bundles cannot be sent as gifts. Territory notices can also restrict a purchase; Steam says Support cannot change territory or language restrictions. [2]

Copy the full product name rather than shortening it to the franchise. A base game, expansion, deluxe upgrade and bundle can look similar in search results while describing different purchases. Compare the Store page heading with the cart’s item line, then read any message attached to the recipient.

For example, “owns the game” does not answer whether a deluxe upgrade is the correct product. Check what the upgrade includes and which base edition it requires. If a friend’s games are not visible to you, ask them to inspect their own Library instead of treating an empty public view as proof that they own nothing.

Compare a changing checkout price

Record three observations: the item before recipient selection, the item after selection, and the final review. Keep the currency beside every amount. Compare item lines with item lines; compare the full total separately, including any explicitly displayed tax. A game’s advertised starting price and a cart containing several products are not comparable totals.

1. Match the product. Is it still the same edition or package?
2. Match the recipient. Did changing the route also change whose details are selected?
3. Match the quantity and currency. Preserve the labels rather than silently converting one amount.
4. Locate the change. Did the item price move, or did another visible line change the total?
5. Keep an unexplained difference unresolved. Save the observations and ask about that difference before submitting payment.

The documented regional-price adjustment can explain why selecting a recipient changes a price. It does not explain every second change on the next screen. There is no basis here for diagnosing a specific discrepancy as tax, a currency fee or a bug without the relevant line or an official explanation.

Four situations that need different actions

These are fictional examples of how to use the checks.

An email gift for an overseas relative

You know your relative’s email but have not selected a Steam friend. Check the delivery route first. A new email address would not address a country restriction; establish whether the applicable friend route is available for this purchase.

The price rises when you select your friend

The product and quantity stay the same, and the final item amount matches the recipient-selection screen. Compare that sequence with the regional-price rule, then decide whether the final displayed amount is a price you want to pay.

A territory notice remains in the cart

You selected the correct friend, but the product still shows a territory limitation. Keep that notice with the exact edition. The selection step does not override it, and a general news article saying gifting improved does not resolve this purchase.

The price changes a second time

Your notes show 10.00, then 14.00 after recipient selection, then 19.00 at final review, all in the same displayed currency. If the edition, recipient and item lines still match, the unexplained question is the extra 5.00. Send those two relevant screens, rather than asking only why international gifts cost more.

Review the purchase before paying

At final review, read back the recipient, full product name, delivery choice and total. If any of those differs from your intention, return to that selection and check the updated review. Resolve a surprising amount before testing it with a real payment.

You are buying a new copy for the recipient. Steam’s gifting system does not transfer a game you already own to another account. [2]If what you actually want is access to a household member’s copy, that is a separate Steam Families question.

If you already bought the gift

Find the purchase record and check whether the gift is awaiting delivery, unaccepted or redeemed. A recipient who has not accepted a gift and one who is already playing it require different checks. Do not send a second copy just because an email was missed.

For refunds, Steam separates unredeemed gifts from redeemed ones. A redeemed gift requires the recipient’s approval before the purchaser submits the refund request; the money returns to the purchaser under the applicable refund conditions. Follow the official gift-refund instructions for the recorded state. If payment itself is unclear, use the purchase-record comparison.

Keep a useful checkout record

Use Steam Support for an unexplained checkout error or price difference. Complete only the observations you have. The record helps you ask a specific question; it does not check an account or certify a gift.

Question: [gift route blocked / recipient unavailable / unexplained price change]
Checked at: [date, time and time zone]
Game and exact edition: [product name and Store page]
Purchase route: [Steam friend / email / shared wishlist / unclear]
Purchaser and recipient countries: [countries; no addresses needed]
Intended recipient shown in cart: [yes / no / unclear]
Item price before recipient selection: [amount and displayed currency]
Item price after recipient selection: [amount and displayed currency]
Final review: [item amount, separately displayed tax, total and currency]
Territory or ownership notice: [exact wording / none shown]
What changed between screens: [product, quantity, recipient or unknown]
Payment already submitted: [no / yes, purchase reference kept privately]
Unresolved question: [the specific restriction or difference to explain]

A useful final sentence is: “The item and recipient stayed the same between these two screens; which line explains the difference?” If instead the screen clearly identifies a product restriction, ask which supported purchase option applies to that product rather than requesting a way around it.