So, guess what? I'm in Europe and playing XCOM right now! (Also Dishonored, but that can wait until I save Earth from the alien menace)

Here's how to do it:

Go here: link

Sign up for their free 3-hour trial. Once you've got your login and password, sign in. You'll be sent to the user start page. Download the Multiprotocol VPN tool under the recommended downloads.

Once that's installed, run it. You'll see a window with a server list. Pick a server in the US or Canada (I used USA-NY, but I suppose the others would also work.) Connect to one of these servers.

Change your Steam download region in the Steam Settings under Downloads. I actually changed this after I started running the VPN, but Steam didn't care. Might want to do this first though, just to be sure.

Close Steam and restart. Once Steam restarts, it should start unpacking XCOM. Wait until the game is done unpacking and start it up with the VPN running to make sure it works.

If it works, exit the game, select Go Offline in Steam (It's under Steam in the top left). You can close the VPN now too. You can go online in Steam again once the game officially releases in Europe.

There, now you can play XCOM! (and perhaps Dishonored, you should play that too)

And before you ask:

No, I'm not going to get banned from Steam. Valve doesn't care if you use VPN's to unlock games early, they only start caring if you use VPN's to purchase games cheaply through Steam, by pretending that you're in Russia or somewhere else.

Have fun!

@Thule: While I appreciate the good intentions, I have a feeling this may get locked as you are essentially telling people exactly how to break Steam's terms of service.

Admittedly, non-unified international release dates for PC games are RIDICULOUS, but still, not sure the mods will be too happy.

Guess I should have seen this thread before I created mine. But I don't think you need to do any changes to the settings of Steam, just the VPN will do the trick.

hmm seems like a good way to get banned. you can either wait a few days to play legit or unlock the game early and potentially get your account permanently banned for life!

@Anund: I guess with the change in settings you could argue that you made a quick 3 day trip to the US should they every raise an issue with your early access...

@Jackel2072 said:

hmm seems like a good way to get banned. you can either wait a few days to play legit or unlock the game early and potentially get your account permanently banned for life!

You know, there is no reason why a digital game should be unlocked at different times in different regions except maybe for marketing reasons. If they want to ban me for circumventing an arbitrary and stupid limitation, then so be it.

This is the kind of thing that I would absolutely never do. I'm excited for the game and all, but I'd rather wait until Friday than do something that obviously contravenes Steam's terms of service. Just not worth it to me.

Does that make me a pussy, or am I just Lawful Good in a world full of Chaotic Neutral?

And what makes people try stuff like this? Is it the thrill of breaking the rules, or are people really that impatient? Or is it hard for people to wait three days while people in the USA are already playing?

@Atlas said:

This is the kind of thing that I would absolutely never do. I'm excited for the game and all, but I'd rather wait until Friday than do something that obviously contravenes Steam's terms of service. Just not worth it to me.

Does that make me a pussy, or am I just Lawful Good in a world full of Chaotic Neutral?

And what makes people try stuff like this? Is it the thrill of breaking the rules, or are people really that impatient? Or is it hard for people to wait three days while people in the USA are already playing?

Just seems unfair. Down with the Man! And so on, so forth.

@Anund: Even if I could understand that mindset, I couldn't understand rebelling against Steam, which is one of the pioneers in terms of offering a great digital distribution service. I get people hacking around Ubisoft's dumb DRM, but Steam is the wide-eyed fluffy puppy of the video game world - I would never do anything to hurt it.

Life is easier if you obey the rules - you never have to worry about getting caught.

I've done this with every game that ever releases early in America. Loads of people do it, and I've never heard of a single ban due to it. The bans are for people who abuse VPNs to buy games in a different region for a cheaper price.

Technically, neither would I. This is why I stay away from sites like gmg and g2play. However, this particular thing is bs and I don't see how going around this stupid restriction would hurt Steam.

Very tempted, i have both Dishonored and Enemy Unknown sitting in there, all pre-loaded and looking pretty.

Ah, this is tempting, but if I unlock the game early then maybe I'll stop playing Borderlands 2. Can't let that happen.

@Anund: coming back full circle to this argument, im curious. did you get banned or is everything good in the hood?

@Jackel2072 Banned from Steam? Nope :)