This is why we can’t have nice things.
Valve will not be renewing its stock of physical gift cards for Steam. The gaming company anticipates that the cards will be completely gone from retailers’ shelves by the end of 2026. In an update to one of its support pages, Valve explained that is making this change in response to scammers.
Using gift cards to con people out of money has become a common enough trend that the Federal Trade Commission has an FAQ about the practice. In Valve’s case, it seems the business’ escalating steps to curb gift card scams has reached an end.
“As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted,” Valve states regarding the physical cards. “They continue to have an impact on Steam customers and other unsuspecting individuals. So we’ve made the difficult decision to end the Steam Gift Card program at retail stores.”
It’s a bummer to lose this option. I’ve definitely snagged a few of these over the years, just because it can be nice to have a small token to include with a card or something tangible to put in wrapping paper. Fortunately, Valve will still let people lawfully redeem any physical gift cards out in the wild, and it will continue to support the digital side of its gift card business. So there will still be ways to easily add to your friends’ and families’ Steam libraries. You just won’t be able to put a cute bow on them.
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