Thanks to the ongoing Steam Summer Sale 2023, players are treated to a swath of exciting game deals and discounts. This is not unexpected. After all, these major, once-a-year sales on Steam make for by far its busiest periods. This means gamers are eager to top up their store wallets to indulge in steep discounts. The sale lasts for two weeks, although at this point, it’s nearing its end.
Players who are yet to partake in the sale may be rushing to get the deed done before the sale ends. Unfortunately for Steam users in India, a peculiar problem has prevented them from purchasing games.
Why is “Error Occured”cropping up for Indian Steam users during the Summer Sale 2023?
Steam needs to cut ties with Novaplay for Payments in India. by u/nexistcsgo in IndianGaming
Players from the region who are making purchases on Steam via Novaplay have been unable to proceed with their transaction.
A growing number of users have expressed their discontent with this situation on the IndianGaming subreddit on Reddit. This problem seems to have been plaguing some users since a day after the sale started on June 29, 2023.
In my case, the last game I purchased was on July 6, 2023, a week into the sale. Since then, however, none of my transactions have gone through.
As the user on the embedded thread explains, it freezes past the OTP sequence, then gives an “Error Occured. Please Try Again”dialog box.
@Steam Novaplay purchases end up getting failed. Tried mobile, desktop client, Firefox and edge but all result in error. pic.twitter.com/Ov2sbw7n6u
— Sunil (@rattletop) June 30, 2023
For those unaware, the company Novaplay is responsible for handling domestic transactions for Indian users on the digital games store.
Their servers have never been down for this long, however. The problem is that the issue has not been fixed. Making matters worse, the Summer Sale 2023 lasts for only two more days.
Why is this happening? So far, we do not have an official answer. The only thing users can do is wait. In the meantime, here are some workarounds:
How to solve the Novaplay error?
1) Use Visa or Mastercard options
These options seem to work as they are direct transactions with Steam. Do note that users will need to have international transactions enabled on their card.
With that done, the payment should go through smoothly. Simply type in your card details and proceed with the transaction.
2) Use Steam wallet gift cards
Buying wallet codes is one of the more popular payment options for digital platforms. Users can buy gift cards from third-party sites.
There are a few caveats, however. Gift codes will often be more expensive than the amount being redeemed—sometimes even up to 30% more expensive.
Furthermore, wallet codes may be out of stock across stores. Considering this issue is plaguing an entire region, it would not be surprising to be out of luck across e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart.
3) Retry transactions during low traffic
It could be a traffic error on Novaplay’s end. As such, players should retry transactions during low-traffic periods when not many users will be trying the same process as them. Logically, the best time to do so is after midnight.
The Steam Summer Sale ends on July 13, 2023. Here are the specific sale end timings for users to keep track of in hopes of solving the error.
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