diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 30e7cf91..91363cec 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ## 2024/2/7
 
 * new persistent modes for cold client loader, mode 2 is a more accurate simulation and allows launching apps from their .exe
+* allow setting the IP country via the file `ip_country.txt`
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/dll/dll/common_includes.h b/dll/dll/common_includes.h
index a1903900..187410d3 100644
--- a/dll/dll/common_includes.h
+++ b/dll/dll/common_includes.h
@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ static inline void consume_bom(std::ifstream &input)
     bom[1] = input.get();
     bom[2] = input.get();
     if (bom[0] != 0xEF || bom[1] != 0xBB || bom[2] != 0xBF) {
+        input.clear();
         input.seekg(pos, std::ios::beg);
     }
 }
diff --git a/dll/dll/settings.h b/dll/dll/settings.h
index c3d56e34..0c7b737c 100644
--- a/dll/dll/settings.h
+++ b/dll/dll/settings.h
@@ -316,6 +316,8 @@ public:
     bool hasOverlayAutoAcceptInviteFromFriend(uint64_t friend_id) const;
     size_t overlayAutoAcceptInvitesCount() const;
 
+    // get the alpha-2 code from: https://www.iban.com/country-codes 
+    std::string ip_country = "US";
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/dll/dll/steam_utils.h b/dll/dll/steam_utils.h
index 2ca30114..295b1550 100644
--- a/dll/dll/steam_utils.h
+++ b/dll/dll/steam_utils.h
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ const char *GetIPCountry()
 {
     PRINT_DEBUG("Steam_Utils::GetIPCountry\n");
     std::lock_guard<std::recursive_mutex> lock(global_mutex);
-    return "US";
+    return settings->ip_country.c_str();
 }
 
 // returns true if the image exists, and valid sizes were filled out
diff --git a/dll/settings_parser.cpp b/dll/settings_parser.cpp
index 23d301ba..d5ff0afc 100644
--- a/dll/settings_parser.cpp
+++ b/dll/settings_parser.cpp
@@ -1129,6 +1129,32 @@ static void parse_auto_accept_invite(class Settings *settings_client, Settings *
     }
 }
 
+// ip_country.txt
+static void parse_ip_country(class Settings *settings_client, Settings *settings_server)
+{
+    std::string setting_file = Local_Storage::get_game_settings_path() + "ip_country.txt";
+    std::ifstream input( utf8_decode(setting_file) );
+    if (input.is_open()) {
+        consume_bom(input);
+        std::string line{};
+        std::getline( input, line );
+
+        size_t start = line.find_first_not_of(whitespaces);
+        size_t end = line.find_last_not_of(whitespaces);
+        line = start == end
+            ? std::string()
+            : line.substr(start, end - start + 1);
+        
+        // ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 format is 2 chars only
+        if (line.size() == 2) {
+            std::transform(line.begin(), line.end(), line.begin(), [](char c) { return std::toupper(c); });
+            settings_client->ip_country = line;
+            settings_server->ip_country = line;
+            PRINT_DEBUG("Setting IP country to: '%s'\n", line.c_str());
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 uint32 create_localstorage_settings(Settings **settings_client_out, Settings **settings_server_out, Local_Storage **local_storage_out)
 {
     std::string program_path = Local_Storage::get_program_path();
@@ -1332,6 +1358,8 @@ uint32 create_localstorage_settings(Settings **settings_client_out, Settings **s
     load_gamecontroller_settings(settings_client);
 
     parse_auto_accept_invite(settings_client, settings_server);
+    
+    parse_ip_country(settings_client, settings_server);
 
     *settings_client_out = settings_client;
     *settings_server_out = settings_server;
diff --git a/post_build/README.release.md b/post_build/README.release.md
index b2cf3aab..5c8d6777 100644
--- a/post_build/README.release.md
+++ b/post_build/README.release.md
@@ -465,6 +465,15 @@ Check the exaxmple file in the `steam_settings` folder
 
 ---
 
+## IP country:
+
+You can report a country IP if the game queries it, by setting the 2 characters code in the file `ip_country.txt`.  
+Use this link to get the `Alpha-2` country code: https://www.iban.com/country-codes  
+
+Check the exaxmple file in the `steam_settings` folder
+
+---
+
 ## More configurations:
 Due to the various changes and additions, it became tedious to document everything,  
 so it is recommended to check each example file in the `steam_settings` folder.
diff --git a/post_build/steam_settings.EXAMPLE/ip_country.EXAMPLE.txt b/post_build/steam_settings.EXAMPLE/ip_country.EXAMPLE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4547d977
--- /dev/null
+++ b/post_build/steam_settings.EXAMPLE/ip_country.EXAMPLE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+US
\ No newline at end of file