Full Article: 5 Min Read time
Quick Check:
Turkey's parliament has officially passed a new law requiring major digital gaming platforms, including Steam, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation Store, to appoint a local representative, display age ratings on all games, and add parental controls. Platforms with over 100,000 daily users in Turkey must comply within six months of the law coming into effect or face escalating fines and internet bandwidth throttling. Full platform bans were removed from the final version of the law.
Turkey's Grand National Assembly formally approved sweeping new legislation on April 23, 2026, targeting foreign digital game distribution platforms operating in the country. The law, drafted by Turkey's Ministry of Family and Social Services, is part of a broader digital regulation package that also restricts social media access for children under 15.
This regulation directly affects major game platforms in Turkey such as Steam (Valve), Epic Games Store, PlayStation Store (Sony), Xbox (Microsoft), and any other foreign-operated storefront that serves more than 100,000 daily active users within Turkey.
The law passed with notable revisions compared to its original draft, in which several of the most controversial provisions were dropped following lobbying from global industry players and the "Turkish Game Developers Association" (TOGED), which attended the April 2 commission meeting alongside representatives from Google, Meta, and Roblox.
Once the law formally comes into effect, which is expected soon after its publication in the official gazette, all gaming platforms will have six months to achieve full compliance with the new Turkish gaming regulations.
Key Changes:
Mandatory Age Ratings:
All games sold in Turkey must display an official age rating. Any title without a recognised classification is automatically labeled 18+. The responsibility for age verification now lies with the platform, not individual developers.
Parental Control Tools:
Platforms must offer "clear, convenient, and easy-to-use" parental control systems, including purchase limits and screen time or session-time settings, accessible to parents and guardians.
Local Representative:
Foreign platforms with 100,000+ daily Turkish users must appoint a local representative. Crucially, opening a full physical office in Turkey is not required. Representative details must be submitted to Turkey's BTK regulator and displayed on the platform itself.
Fraud Ad Detection:
Platforms are legally required to actively detect and block fraudulent advertisements to protect Turkish users from the financial scams.
In the original Turkey Steam ban proposal, games without publisher-assigned age ratings would have been entirely prohibited from sale — a move that could have eliminated an estimated 60% of Steam's catalog. Additionally, the Turkish regulator originally sought the power to completely block gaming platforms nationwide.
Both provisions were ultimately removed. So, the law represents a softened outcome compared to early drafts. The final text also does not require companies to open physical offices, only to designate an accessible contact point.
TOGED President "Ali Erkin" argued during parliamentary hearings that today's players are tomorrow's game developers and exporters, and that heavy restrictions risk damaging Turkey's fast-growing domestic gaming industry. Because of this argument, several of the most disruptive provisions were dropped before the final vote.
Full Calendar:
Penalties for Non-Compliance:
Most importantly, the bandwidth throttling for gaming platforms in the final law is capped at 30–50%, which is a significant step back from the original proposal, which threatened 90% throttling that would have rendered platforms effectively unusable. Full blocking was eliminated entirely from the legislation.
Platforms that fail to appoint a local representative within 30 days of the law's enactment face the above escalating schedule independently of other compliance failures. The BTK holds authority over all enforcement actions under the Turkish digital platform regulation framework.
Questions for You:
- What are your thoughts on these new regulations from Turkey?
- As a gamer, do you actually use built-in parental tools, or do you find them too restrictive?
- If your favorite platform was throttled by 50%, would you stick with it or switch to a different service?
Let me know in the comments, where you can also provide the latest news so I can make a breakdown of it.