Kazakhstan PlayStation and Xbox Store Region Targeted for Q1 2027, but Sony and Microsoft Have Not Confirmed

What was actually said​

Binur Zhalenov, Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, told BES.media that the regulator is working on Kazakhstanis' access to the Sony and Microsoft stores. BES.media summarized the goal as letting local gamers buy games and subscriptions from major global tech services without complicated workarounds.

His timeline was specific. Kod.ru reports that the National Bank expects to resolve the question of creating a separate Kazakhstani region in Sony and Microsoft digital stores by March 31, 2027. The official's own words were confident but not a promise: "I think we will fully settle this issue by the end of the first quarter."

He also said this isn't really the central bank's job. In BES.media's interview he called it more of a market task than regulatory work, but said the Bank is working on it anyway. Kod.ru adds that the Bank is participating in negotiations, in particular with Sony. The details stop there. Russian outlet WTFtime notes that the official did not share details of the negotiations.

Section summary: A senior Kazakh regulator has publicly set an end-of-Q1 2027 target for a dedicated regional storefront. It's his expectation, not a launch date, and he gave no details about the talks.

The companies haven't confirmed anything​

This is the most important caveat. Digital Report says plainly that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have not publicly announced such a decision. WTFtime likewise reports that Sony and Microsoft representatives have not reported any negotiations with Kazakhstan's authorities.

So a central bank official has named a deadline, and the two companies that would have to build, price, license and support a new regional store haven't responded. Treat March 31, 2027 as a goal, not a release date.

Why Kazakhstan has no region​

The problem goes back to 2022. Digital Report explains that before 2022, many PlayStation owners in Kazakhstan registered Russian accounts and bought games through the Russian PlayStation Store, and that a separate, full-fledged Kazakhstani PlayStation Network region effectively did not exist.

Sony and Microsoft then pulled back from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Kazakh players lost their workaround and are now in the same position as Russian players. WTFtime says Kazakhstan residents buy games in regions that support the relevant localizations, and that as a rule, this means Poland, Turkey and India.

Zhalenov's point about payment matters here. BES.media quotes him as saying Kazakh bank cards can be used in gaming services, but that paying still means taking a complicated route, such as getting a different card issued. So it's not that Kazakh cards are refused everywhere. The real problem is that there's no supported local region, so players end up pretending to live somewhere else.

BES.media also points to a tax angle. Because these purchases go through foreign storefronts, Kazakhstan may be missing out on the related tax revenue. That helps explain why a central bank cares about game stores: it's about payments and money leaving the country, not just gamers' convenience.

This has been tried before​

Kod.ru reports that in 2023, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Digital Development had already approached Sony with a similar request, but the company did not announce concrete plans. BES.media's earlier reporting went further: Sony couldn't give a timeline, and embassy representatives said a Kazakhstan store wasn't planned. No available reporting says Microsoft was contacted in that 2023 round. That episode was about Sony only.

Nintendo comes up in some coverage as well. Prokazan says the regulator is looking at the country's absence from the region settings of PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store and Nintendo services. But the timeline and the negotiations described so far are about Sony and Microsoft.

Section summary: Kazakhstan asked Sony once already and got nowhere. This time a financial regulator is involved and there's a public deadline, but so far no company has agreed to anything.

The Microsoft angle: Store vs. Xbox Store​

For WindowsForum readers, one detail in Microsoft's own documentation helps make sense of the story.

Microsoft's developer documentation on MSIX market selection, which covers the countries a developer can choose when publishing a Store app, lists Kazakhstan as a Microsoft Store consumer market. The same page says markets marked with an asterisk support the Microsoft Store on Xbox One, and Kazakhstan has no asterisk. Russia, Poland, Türkiye and India all do.

That lines up with the workaround countries players mention. The countries where Kazakh gamers reportedly set up accounts are ones Microsoft's own list marks as Xbox-capable.

Some caution is needed. That page is about which markets developers can publish apps to. It doesn't set out consumer account rules, billing eligibility or Game Pass availability. It's still useful, though, because it shows the likely gap:

• Microsoft Store (consumer apps): Kazakhstan is on Microsoft's published market list.
• Xbox storefront market: Kazakhstan doesn't carry Microsoft's Xbox marker.
• What players want: a proper local Xbox and gaming store region, not general app availability.

In other words, Kazakhstan isn't missing from everything Microsoft sells. What's missing, based on Microsoft's own marker, is the console gaming storefront, and that seems to be what Zhalenov is talking about.

Unanswered questions​

Even if an agreement is reached, the reporting doesn't say what a Kazakhstan region would include. Things to watch for if Sony or Microsoft announce anything:

1. Currency and pricing: would prices be in tenge, or in dollars or euros?
2. Payment methods: would local cards work directly, and would gift cards be sold locally?
3. Subscriptions: would PlayStation Plus and Game Pass be offered in the new region?
4. Account migration: could players who registered in Poland, Türkiye or India move to the new region, and what happens to their game libraries and wallet balances?
5. Localization: many Kazakh players rely on Russian-language versions, which is partly why they picked those workaround regions. Would a local store offer the same localized catalog?

None of these has an answer yet, and it would be irresponsible to guess.

Analysis: why the date is worth skepticism​

My reading, based on general industry knowledge: opening a new regional storefront is a real commitment. It involves publisher licensing, age-rating compliance, tax registration, local payment processing and customer support, and none of that is controlled by a central bank. The regulator can remove payment and tax obstacles. It can't make Sony or Microsoft decide the market is worth it.

There's also an uncomfortable wrinkle. WTFtime speculates that if Kazakhstan got its own regions, these regions would also be popular with Russian players. Platform holders that have stepped back from Russia may see that as a risk, since a new region next door could become a backdoor into a market they deliberately left.

On the other hand, this time there's a named official and a public deadline. That's more than the 2023 effort produced.

Bottom line​

• Kazakhstan's National Bank says it's working toward dedicated PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store regions, with a target of March 31, 2027.
• Sony and Microsoft haven't confirmed any plans.
• Players now use foreign regions such as Poland, Türkiye and India, and deal with payment workarounds.
• Microsoft's own documentation lists Kazakhstan as a Microsoft Store consumer market but not an Xbox market, which points to the console storefront as the missing piece.
• Kazakh Xbox players shouldn't change their account setup yet. For now, the path they already use still stands.

If you're a Kazakh Xbox or PC gamer who has dealt with region and payment workarounds, tell the forum what worked for you and what didn't.