Play without borders
Access Steam from anywhere
Steam is the world's largest PC gaming platform, but not everyone gets the same version. Games disappear from the store based on where you live, and in some countries, the entire platform is restricted. Lantern gives you full access.
How to access Steam with Lantern
Step 1: Get Lantern
Download Lantern on your phone or computer. It's free.
Step 2: Open and connect
Open Lantern and tap to connect. Lantern automatically picks the best protocol for your network, so there's nothing to configure.
Step 3: Enjoy Steam
Launch Steam or visit the Steam Store. Browse, download, and play.
Where is Steam restricted?
Steam's restrictions come in layers. Some countries face full platform blocks. Others get a censored version of the store. And almost everyone deals with region-locking on individual games.
Platform-level restrictions:
- China has its own separate version of Steam (Steam China) with a heavily curated library. The international Steam store is accessible but increasingly difficult to reach.
- Iran and North Korea are blocked from purchasing games entirely due to sanctions.
- Russia and Belarus face purchase restrictions on many titles.
Game-level region locks affect everyone else. Publishers and licensing agreements determine which games are available in which countries. Germany restricts games that lack age ratings. Indonesia has threatened to ban games whose publishers don't open local offices. Individual titles like Stellar Blade have launched blocked in 130+ countries at once.
School and workplace networks frequently block Steam to manage bandwidth, even in countries where the platform is fully available.
Why region-locking matters
When a game is region-locked on Steam, it doesn't just block you from buying it. It disappears from the store entirely. You can't see its page, can't read reviews, can't add it to your wishlist. It's as if it doesn't exist.
For gamers who've relocated, this creates real problems. Your library is tied to your original region, but your access is determined by where you are now. Steam only lets you change your store country once every three months, and your payment method has to match.
Expats, students abroad, and travelers all run into this. You paid for a game at home, but you can't play it where you are now.
How Lantern helps
Lantern routes your Steam traffic through a connection that bypasses regional restrictions and network blocks. On networks that block Steam entirely (schools, workplaces, restrictive countries), Lantern's protocol rotation finds a path through.
Only your Steam traffic goes through the VPN. Everything else stays on your regular connection, which keeps your ping low for online games.
Nonprofit, open source, no logs
Lantern is a nonprofit VPN built by a 501(c)(3), trusted by over 250 million people. Open source, independently audited, no-logs policy.
Every Pro subscription helps fund free access for people in the most restricted regions.