Turkey proposes severe restrictions on Steam and Epic Games

The scenario for the digital distribution market in Turkey may suffer a considerable setback. The Turkish government has presented a regulatory proposal that imposes strict barriers on the operation of platforms such as Steam and the Epic Games Store. The project requires these companies to establish official representatives on Turkish soil and submit the entire catalog to a local age rating system. If the platforms do not comply with the determinations, the government threatens to reduce the bandwidth by 90%, which would make it impossible to download games and use the services in the country.

The proposal from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority of Turkey includes points that generate immediate criticism for the lack of technical clarity and invasion of privacy. In addition to requiring access to users' personal data, the text mentions the obligation to respect "local cultural characteristics," a subjective term that opens the door to arbitrary censorship of titles. The oversight would have the power to request the removal or modification of any game considered problematic from this governmental perspective.

Although the attempt to organize the age rating can be seen as aligning with standards such as ESRB or PEGI, the proposed execution is punitive. The requirement of physical representation and control over cultural content brings Turkey closer to closed market models, which is bad news for the freedom of consumption of local players. The dependence on physical infrastructure for essentially digital services often results in increased costs and reduced catalog.

For now, the project is in a preliminary phase and has not yet been submitted to parliament. For Turkish enthusiasts, there is hope that companies and the community can mitigate the most drastic aspects of the law before the official vote. If implemented as is, the measure could digitally isolate one of the fastest-growing markets in the region, harming both players and independent developers who rely on Steam and the Epic Games Store to reach the audience.