The constant change of methods for replenishing wallets and purchasing games has puzzled gamers from Russia and Belarus for several years. How to continue to devote time to your favorite hobby without facing the problem of payment and availability of payment systems? We decided to collect the most relevant methods in 2024 in one material.
Here you’ll find some tips on how to buy games, renew your Game Pass and PlayStation Plus subscriptions, and shop on Steam and the Nintendo eShop.
PlayStation
Turkish “gambit” for those who are already in the know
Let’s start with the fact that the economic decisions of the Turkish government have led to a rapid devaluation of the lira, forcing gaming companies to adjust prices almost every month. Most new products in the Turkish PlayStation already cost almost as much as in Germany, France or the same Poland. Tightening the screws on the part of Binance and the Oldubil payment system also makes Turkey an increasingly less attractive region for purchasing games in the PlayStation Store.
If you have become too accustomed to Turkey over the past two years and do not really want to change anything, then various trading platforms such as Avito, Playo or Wildberries have offers not only with cards for various PlayStation Plus tariff plans, but also direct purchase of games to your account through third parties, as well as wallet replenishment cards.
Payment cards
Wallet refill cards for Turkey do not officially exist, so do not even try to look for them. If you find such an offer on some site, then it may be a scam. Or the person works according to the following scheme: he gives you the details of his own Turkish bank card (usually a disposable one) and with their help you can buy the game yoursel
The UK region has a total of 12 recharge card denominations, while Sony has provided five for the US account – $10, $25, $50, $75 and $100. The payment cards are presented in the form of codes that can be activated through the console or the website.
Russian Beeline and Tele-2 subscribers can also purchase refill cards worth 10, 25, 50 and 100 US dollars. The commission is about 10% of the card cost and is only valid for American profiles. Accounts registered in Poland, Germany and other countries cannot be refilled in this way. The money is debited from the subscriber’s account, and the code is sent to the email address that must be specified in a special form.
To redeem a PS Store code via your console:
- Login to your account
- Go to the PlayStation Store section in the left corner of the screen
- On PlayStation 5, in the upper right corner, you need to select the icon with three dots, and then the Redeem Code option. If you have a PlayStation 4, scroll to the bottom of the store page. On the left side of the screen, there will be an option for Redeem Code
- Enter 12-digit code
To activate your PS Store code via the website:
- Login to your account
- Click on the icon with your profile avatar in the upper right corner of the screen
- In the window that opens, select the Redeem Code option and enter the code sent to you
Which region should a new user choose?
It is better to choose one of three regions for a new account: the USA, the UK or Poland. As a rule, almost all games and all levels of PS Plus subscription are available in the USA, and finding an opportunity to purchase a payment card is not a big problem. Prices are also around $70 for new releases, which is not so bad against the background of Turkey. Perhaps the main problem that owners of an American account will face is the lack of Russian localization in most games.
The UK will offer prices in pounds, and given that the pound to ruble exchange rate is higher than the dollar, the prices for games in the UK region will be higher. The main advantage of the UK account is that it will more often have games with Russian localization.
Surprisingly, Poland will be the most expensive and at the same time the most loyal to players from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus region: prices of 8 thousand rubles are compensated by the ease of replenishing the account by purchasing payment cards through almost any platform, as well as support for Russian localization in many games (where the developers have provided it).
Create a profile for another region
A new profile can be created through the official PlayStation website or on the console itself, you only need the IP address of the country for which the new account will be registered.
Via browser:
- Go to the official PlayStation Store website
- Click Sign In in the upper right corner of the page
- Select to create a new account
- In the country of residence, select, say, United States
- Enter your email address in the field (you must create a new mailbox or select one that is not assigned to an account)
- In the fields with states and cities in the case of the USA, it is better to choose the one where there is no sales tax for goods, like Oregon (you can use the one from the screenshot below)
- Postal Code of the selected state/city can be viewed via Google maps
- Choose a nickname, then write your full first and last name (you can make them up, of course), and then confirm your registration via email.
Via console:
- The system will prompt you to log into an existing account or create a new one if it is new.
- If you want to create a new account, you need to select your profile photo on the home screen, Switch User > Add User > Get Started
- Further, all steps completely duplicate what we did through the browser.
Important: it is better to write down (remember) the state, city and postal code, because they will be useful for linking a bank card.
Payment by regional bank card
Another important point when creating a profile in another region is the bank card. If you create an American profile, then the bank card must be issued by an American bank. The same applies to all other regions.
To link a card to your profile, you should:
- Go to “Settings”, then “Users” and select “Account”
- Select “Payment and subscriptions”, and in the window that opens in English it will say “Payment Methods”. Go to this tab
- Click on “Credit/Debit card” and enter the required data step by step. The information we recommended you remember earlier will come in handy.
- If everything is done correctly, the first card you add will be the default payment method.
Purchases through intermediaries
To purchase a game on your account through intermediaries, you need to provide the employees of such services with your account data (login, password, secret code, if any). This is definitely a risky method, so create a separate account for this method, to which no payment information is linked. We also recommend that you carefully study the profiles of such dealers, checking ratings from other buyers and reviews.
How to play games from another region on a Russian account?
If you have created a new profile to purchase games, but want to receive trophies and launch new projects from your main account, you need to link two profiles on one console:
- Log into your secondary account on your PS5 console
- Go to the Settings section
- Select Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play
- Select Enable.
On PS4 the method is slightly different:
- Log into your secondary account on the console
- Go to Settings > Account Management > Activate as Your Primary PS4
This feature allows you to play downloaded games even without the Internet and even share add-ons (except for Ubisoft games), but season passes, bonus content for pre-orders and game currency are assigned to the account from which the purchase was made.
Buying physical copies
Nobody has cancelled the purchase of physical copies of games, which continue to be regularly imported into the country by large retail chains and relatively small stores. The price of disks is on average 7 thousand rubles for new releases and somewhere around 4-5 thousand rubles for projects whose popularity has already died down last year. Stores also offer all sorts of bonus programs with cumulative points and discounts. Of course, this option is not available to owners of a digital model of the console without an optical drive.
Xbox
The methods for acquiring digital versions of games for Xbox are not very different from those we offer for PlayStation. However, Microsoft simplifies the situation a little by allowing Xbox players to change the region of their main account (this can be done no more than once every four months), so if you have the opportunity to get a card in Poland, Great Britain or the USA through friends or acquaintances, you can link it to your main account. As in the case of PlayStation, when migrating, you need to take into account that a previously linked card from one region may stop working in another.
Changing region on console and PC
To change the region on Xbox you need to:
- Log in to your account on the console
- Press the Xbox button on the controller
- Go to Profile & system > Settings > System > Language & location
- After selecting the desired region, you need to restart the device.
On Windows 10/11:
- Start > Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region (simply Region on Windows 10)
- In Country or region select the desired region
How to play games from other accounts?
In order for games purchased from a secondary account to work on the primary account, you need to make the console your home console under the new account. It is also important to remember that you can only have one home console.
How to make a console home:
- Log into your secondary account on the console
- Press the Xbox button on the controller
- General > Personalization > My home Xbox > check the box Make this my home Xbox
You can make your console your home console no more than 5 times a year. All profiles on your home console can use subscriptions and services active on your main account, and also run games purchased from it.
How to renew Xbox Game Pass in Russia and Belarus?
Microsoft also did not limit the operation of Xbox Game Pass for players from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, offering them full access to the service library, which can be activated by simply purchasing a card for 3, 6 or 12 months on sites such as Yandex.Market, OZON or the M.Video chain of stores and DNS.
For example, Game Pass Ultimate for 3 months can be purchased for 3.5 thousand rubles, when access to the service for a year will cost 14.5 thousand. Considering that Microsoft releases all projects of its studios at once in Game Pass, as well as games of Bethesda, which it controls, this is a rather profitable investment. Moreover, after the deal with Activision Blizzard is closed, games of the Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo series will eventually appear in the Microsoft service.
Steam
Users of the Valve platform have an internal wallet that can be replenished with currency, and then purchase games from it without worrying about blocking payment systems. Even taking into account the revocation of the license of QIWI, which many players used as the main way to replenish the wallet, users have access to many other services.
Account replenishment via Webmoney
WebMoney allows you to purchase the so-called WMZ currency on the exchange, which is the system’s equivalent of the dollar. WMZ can then be transferred to your Steam wallet balance.
The only thing that can stop many from using WebMoney is the need to obtain a formal certificate for trading on the exchange. To do this, users need to provide the service with their passport data.
If you decide to do so, you will need to log in to the Passport Webmoney portal and provide the service with your passport details. After that, you will also need to confirm your identity through the VideoID service by recording a video that shows your entire face and the back of your passport. You can record the video through a browser or mobile devices based on iOS and Android.
After completing all the steps, you will need to wait about two days until the administration checks your data and issues a formal certificate.
Replenishment via the exchange is carried out as follows:
- In your profile, click “Top up your wallet”
- “Through Exchanger.Money”
- Select a bank card, and then you are redirected to the exchange page
In the new window you will be able to select the amount of replenishment, and then find a suitable seller. Again, we recommend looking at the merchant’s rating and preferably choosing your bank, so as not to pay an extra commission.
After the transaction, the funds are transferred to your wallet, from which you can then top up your Steam balance using the option “Payments” > “Games” > “Steam top-up in USD”.
It is noteworthy that the exchange rate is sometimes lower than the official one, but the money is transferred to the Steam wallet at the current rate, which is why you may end up with even more money on your balance than you planned.
Top up via MTC
MTS also offers Steam wallet replenishment services through its instant payment service, but users report that the system sometimes fails, preventing the transfer of funds. The minimum commission for the service is 50 rubles, but at times it can reach up to 26% of the replenishment amount.
We recommend making transfers via the website – it is much more convenient – but the corresponding functions are also available in the operator’s mobile application.
Intermediaries and activation keys
Intermediaries can also come to the rescue, who can top up your wallet from their foreign bank cards. This is the simplest, but also the least profitable option – they can take a commission of 20% to 30% for their services. Here again, you should pay attention to the seller’s profile, including reviews and overall rating.
Some trading platforms and stores — “Buka”, Steambuy, Plati.market — offer to purchase an activation key. In this case, it is important to ensure that the key is not bound to a region — the product description should say Region Free or Global.
