Microsoft revealed both the Age of Empires 4 release date and price during E3 2021, and while the strategy game is on track to release later this year, regional pricing differences have sparked outrage among fans in certain parts of the world.
Age of Empires bears the expected AAA price tag of $59.99/59,99€/£49.99, but Australian fans are having to pay approximately 30% more for the game’s standard edition.
Instead of having to spend 80 AUD, which is roughly the equivalent of 60 USD, Australian players currently have to fork up 99.95 AUD if they’re looking to play Age of Empires IV at launch.
Regional pricing complaints are also coming from other places like Brazil, one forum user claiming that they would have to pay 20% of the country’s minimum wage for the latest entry in the series. A list of prices can be found on Steam Database.
Age of Empires IV is, however, not the only game that has received complaints due to regional pricing. Sometimes, this recurring issue is caused by some sort of error, but a game’s cost can also be affected by a number of factors, including sales taxes.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this article as soon as we hear back.
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