One of the most popular ways for Steam users to charge their store wallets is through the purchase of gift cards. For years, Steam has allowed players to purchase gift cards in different denominations, which they could then redeem for their value on the store.
Unfortunately, the company has announced that it will no longer be making physical Steam gift cards. In other words, the current stock you see at retailers worldwide will not be replenished.
Steam’s gift cards, introduced in 2012, were originally only physical cards. In 2017, Valve expanded the programme, introducing a digital option. The intent behind the idea was to allow the millions of players in countries with low levels of credit card ownership to participate in the Steam marketplace; to buy games, DLC and so on.
As spotted by SteamDB, Valve recently updated the Steam gift card Support page to announce the change. The reason basically comes down to physical gift cards being more trouble than they’re worth. Valve has been fighting an unending battle against scammers, who use Steam gift cards (and others), to target people by convincing them to buy the card and then reading out the code over the phone.
Gift cards from all sources have been used in scams practically since their inception, so Steam is not alone in that, and as Valve explains, the company has tried to combat scammers through different means. But they continued to adapt.
Valve says it has worked with retailers and law enforcement, limited the availability of gift cards in general, and even added warnings to the physical cards themselves to alert people to scams. Valve has also made it so cards can only be redeemed in the same currency of your Steam wallet, and removed cards from sale in certain places whenever “abnormal activity” had been detected.
None of that was seemingly enough. “As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted,” Valve’s post read. “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.”
Valve expects the current stock to be gone “by the end of 2026”, after which you’ll no longer be able to buy physical Steam gift cards. If you already have one, you’ll be able to use it alongside any that you buy after this announcement. Beyond that, digital will be your only option.
