With the rise of digital platforms, it is often assumed that we have entered a "flat world" (Friedman 2007) where content can be delivered globally at no extra cost. In a recent article (Watabe, Yang, and Kanasheuski 2025), we challenge this assumption using data from the digital game platform Steam. We find that even in a purely digital environment where physical shipping costs are zero, consumers are still significantly less likely to purchase games developed in distant countries. Further analysis suggests that information barriers and cultural preferences prevent the digital economy from being truly borderless.
