Valve will stop producing physical Steam gift cards because of scammers
Key takeaways
- Valve Valve will not be renewing its stock of physical gift cards for Steam.
- 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.
- "As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted," Valve states regarding the physical cards.
Valve 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."