so i just heard that valve is discontinuing physical steam gift cards, and i'm kinda sad about it. i mean, who doesn't love getting a sweet gift card to buy some new games or dlc? but i guess the reason behind it is pretty valid - scammers have been using them to trick people, and it's just gotten out of hand.



apparently, steam gift cards have been around since 2012, and they were originally only physical. but in 2017, valve introduced digital gift cards, which was a great move, especially for people in countries where credit card ownership is pretty low. the idea was to make it easier for everyone to participate in the steam marketplace, and it worked pretty well. however, the physical gift cards have been a bit of a headache for valve, with scammers using them to scam people by convincing them to buy a card and then reading out the code over the phone.



i can see why valve would want to put a stop to it - it's just not worth the trouble, you know? they've been working with retailers and law enforcement to try and combat the scammers, and they've even added warnings to the physical cards themselves. but it seems like no matter what they do, the scammers just adapt and find new ways to trick people. it's pretty frustrating, and i can understand why valve would want to just cut their losses and move on.



so, what does this mean for us steam users? well, basically, the current stock of physical gift cards will be sold out by the end of 2026, and then they'll be gone for good. if you've already got a physical gift card, don't worry - you can still use it, and you'll also be able to use any digitalRead more: Full article on www.eurogamer.net

What do you think about this?