Steam launches European beta

We'll have to thank RockPaperShotgun for drawing our attention to this, but Valve has quietly released a European beta to Steam - one that has introduced new, crazy prices to the UK.

The beta is currently only available through the web-based side of Steam, not the Steam program front-end. The site actually picks up where you are in the world and shows you the correct prices.

And the prices are actually quite mental too, though it isn't clear if it's a bug or a deliberate pricing change. UK users can now get substantial savings over the US users, though some prices just don't make any sense at all.

Take BioShock for example, which costs $54.99 in the US (that's around £42.38 when converted). If you buy the same game through the European beta though then you can pick it up for just £13.99. The Complete Civ IV pack offer similar savings, costing $59.99 in the US, but just £26.99 in the UK.

Other prices meanwhile seem broken in a slightly more odd way. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, for example, is currently priced at £13.99, while the very first Grand Theft Auto game costs more than the more recent titles at £16.99.

The good side to this is obviously that these prices, even if they don't last, open up some stunning savings for UK users. Already we've combed through the market and picked out a number of items for ourselves. The bad news though is that if it is just a pricing glitch then it might not last. If you're going to buy something then you'd better do it quickly.

Our favourite deal of the moment is the original and classic Deus Ex, which can be yours for just £5.99. Tell us what crazy prices you can find in the forums.