Valve just revealed that they’re ending Steam Gift Cards, at least physical cards.
They added this announcement in the Steam Wallet FAQ:
As Steam Gift Cards run out of stock at retail locations, we will not be restocking them. We expect all retailers to be out of stock by the end of 2026.
Valve then explained they will still honor any gift cards users will have, and will also continue to offer gift cards in digital form.
Valve explained that they came to this decision after tiring of dealing with scammers using their gift cards to swindle consumers. They took various measures to address these through the years, but found that scammers have simply adapted.
Valve is of course well within their rights to make these business decisions. We will note that this will limit the availability of Steam purchases to many users who don’t have ways to load up Steam Wallet otherwise.
It’s worth looking back at Valve’s prevailing attitudes towards physical retailers and the limits of their success selling hardware. Consumers can’t really force Valve to act a certain way, but this all feels like it comes at the expense of their users.
