Regional Pricing Discrimination and Unfair Economic Conditions – Balkans / Serbia

Dear Bigpoint Management and Legal/Compliance Team,

2026, nothing has changed.

I am writing to submit a consolidated formal complaint regarding Bigpoint’s regional pricing policy for Seafight. This complaint is based on official Eurostat data covering both nominal minimum wages and Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), which together clearly demonstrate that the current pricing model results in long-term economic discrimination against players from Serbia and the wider Balkan region.
I have contacted support and raised this issue publicly multiple times between 2024 and 2025, without any substantive resolution. Given the persistence and scale of the problem, this matter now requires management and legal-level review.

1. Nominal Minimum Wages – Objective Income Comparison
https://prnt.sc/iFI-bN01ergb
source: Wages and labour costs - Statistics Explained - Eurostat

• Germany: minimum wage ≈ €2,000+
• Turkey: minimum wage ≈ €500
• Bulgaria: minimum wage ≈ €500
• Romania: minimum wage ≈ €770
• Hungary: minimum wage ≈ €750
• Serbia: real minimum wage ≈ €450–500

Despite having minimum wages comparable to or lower than Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, Serbian players are required to pay the same in-game prices as Germany, while those countries receive significant regional discounts.
Current in-game discount examples:

• Turkey: from 75% to 55%
• Hungary: 55%
• Romania & Bulgaria: 25%
• Serbia and most Balkan countries: 0%

This already demonstrates a clear imbalance between income levels and pricing.

2. Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) – Real Economic Capacity
https://prnt.sc/hJzVjhj7d0nr
source: Wages and labour costs - Statistics Explained - Eurostat

To eliminate differences in cost of living, Eurostat uses Purchasing Power Standards (PPS), which measure real purchasing power, not just nominal wages.
Eurostat PPS data (July 2025) groups countries as follows:

• MW ≥ PPS 1500: high purchasing power (Germany, France, Netherlands, etc.)
• PPS 1000–1500: medium purchasing power (Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, etc.)
• MW < PPS 1000: lowest purchasing power (Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, etc.)

The same dataset shows that Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania are among the lowest-ranked countries in Europe by PPS, with purchasing power equal to or lower than multiple EU countries that currently receive regional discounts in Seafight.
In other words:

• Countries with higher real purchasing power than Serbia receive discounts
• Countries with similar purchasing power (Turkey) receive even larger discounts
• Serbia and most Balkan countries receive none

This proves that regional pricing is not aligned with either nominal income or real purchasing power.

3. Unfair Competitive Environment

Seafight is a competitive, progression-based online game in which in-game purchases directly affect performance.
In practice:

• A €75 pack represents approximately 15–17% of a Serbian monthly wage
• The same pack represents approximately 3–5% of a German monthly wage
• And significantly less for players in discounted regions

This creates a structurally unfair, pay-to-win environment where competitiveness depends on geographic location rather than gameplay or skill.
4. Inconsistency of the “Legal Restrictions” Argument

In previous communication, support cited “legal restrictions” as the reason pricing cannot be adjusted for Serbia.
However:

• Prices were reduced and later increased in Turkey
• Other countries with similar economic indicators receive discounts
• VPN-based regional pricing exploitation is widely possible

These facts strongly suggest that regional pricing is a business decision, not a legal obligation.
If legal restrictions exist, I formally request:

• Identification of the specific law
• Explanation of who defines and enforces it
• Clarification of why it applies selectively

5. Lack of Local Currency Payment (Serbian Dinar – RSD)
Payment Options | Seafight
"There are various payment options:

• Each country has it's own currency
• Each country has it's own payment methods."

Additionally, players in Serbia are no longer able to pay in their local currency (Serbian dinar – RSD), unlike in the past. This forces payments exclusively in euros, further reducing affordability and placing Serbian players at an additional disadvantage compared to other regions.
The removal of local currency payments exacerbates existing economic inequality and contradicts fair access principles in digital services.

6. Requested Actions

Based on the above evidence, I respectfully request:

1. A clear written explanation of the objective criteria used to determine regional pricing
2. Clarification of the legal basis allegedly preventing Serbia and Balkan countries from receiving fair regional pricing
3. A revision of the pricing model to reflect minimum wages and PPS data, in line with comparable countries
4. Restoration of local currency payments where applicable

This issue affects an entire region of approximately 18 million people and undermines trust in Bigpoint’s fairness, transparency and commitment to equal treatment of its player base.

In conclusion, the current regional pricing policy creates a fundamentally unfair and distorted competitive environment in Seafight. Players from Serbia and the Balkans are placed at a systematic disadvantage, while players from discounted regions can progress significantly faster and cheaper.
As a direct consequence of this imbalance, an increasing number of players are using VPN services to access Hungarian or Turkish pricing, often openly and without effective sanctions. This practice further undermines fairness, damages trust in the integrity of the game economy, and incentivizes rule circumvention rather than fair play.
By maintaining selective and economically unjustified regional pricing, Bigpoint is unintentionally encouraging behavior that compromises both competitiveness and compliance, while penalizing players who follow the rules and play from their actual country of residence.
Eurostat data and visual charts are attached for reference.

How can this be considered fair or competitive? Why has this been ignored for years?

 

Ahoy Pirate!

As stated in the past if you wish to discuss such matter further you need to contact Support.

Forum isnt a place for such discussion.

Rymar

~Closed~