Steam blocked in Indonesia alongside Epic Games and Origin
New regulations see multiple large gaming services including Steam blocked in Indonesia after the companies failed to meet a deadline to comply with changes to registration requirements in the Southeast Asian country. Other game industry services affected include the likes of Epic Games, CS: GO, Origin, and Dota 2, along with the likes of PayPal and Yahoo. The blocks are not permanent, but are set to remain in place until the companies agree to comply with the newly implemented regulations.
As reported by Niko Partners, new regulations put in place by Kominfo, the Indonesian ministry of communication and information technology, required companies operating in Indonesia to register with Kominfo by July 29 or face “a formal warning, a monetary fine, and access termination.” Now that the deadline has passed, it appears that multiple major IPs in the country have implemented blocks to those companies which have not met the requirements.
Among the names listed as registered on the Kominfo site are Google, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Discord, and Riot Games. It was initially reported that both Microsoft Bing and Blizzard’s Battle.net were not registered, but it appears that both companies have been added to the list as of July 29, and some users in the country have reported that the services are still working for them.
Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad notes that “Kominfo has already reached out to [the affected] companies to ensure compliance and reverse the block.” He adds that he will provide additional updates “when there is a greater clarity from these platforms or the government on the next steps.”
Asked about the nature of the proposal, Ahmad describes it as “registration with additional access.”
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