Valve Kills Its Retail Gift Card Program Due to Scammers
Valve says physical cards will disappear as scammers increasingly use gift cards, while digital cards and redemption of existing cards remain available.
- Valve is discontinuing physical Steam Gift Cards at retail stores due to rising fraud, as scammers have increasingly exploited the cards since their introduction.
- Scammers coerce victims into purchasing Steam Gift Cards under the guise of paying taxes, bail, debts, or delivery fees for fake sweepstakes winnings.
- Valve previously worked with law enforcement and retailers, adding prominent scam warnings and limiting redemption to deter abuse, but these measures proved insufficient.
- Retailers will not restock physical Steam Gift Cards once current inventory depletes, with all stores expected to run out by the end of 2026, though digital cards remain available.
- Users holding existing physical Steam Gift Cards can redeem them on their Steam Wallet whenever they choose, as Valve confirmed there is no expiration deadline.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Physical Steam Gift Cards discontinued. Scammers are to blame.
A matter of weeks after Steam Deck devices got a massive price increase, Valve is taking another difficult measure that will make things slightly less convenient for players.The owner of the biggest digital storefront for PC games announced this week (via SteamDB) that it will no longer manufacture or sell physical Steam gift cards at retail stores. The reason, of course, is that scammers use these cards for all sorts of malicious behaviors, and…
It's end of an era for Steam gift cards
In a crushing blow to “parents who are looking for a gift and vaguely know that their kid likes PC games” everywhere, Valve will no longer be selling physical gift cards for Steam. The company announced the news on a Steam support page (spotted by PC Guide), explaining that the cards are being retired because scammers frequently use them to coerce money from victims.
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