Valve is ending retail sales of physical Steam gift cards, a program it has operated since 2012. Valve stated that it will no longer replenish retail stock and expects existing inventory to be fully depleted by the end of 2026.

The direct cause for the discontinuation is fraud involving physical cards. Valve explained that since their introduction in 2012, scammers have increasingly exploited Steam cards. A common tactic involves deceiving victims into purchasing gift cards under the guise of paying taxes, bail, debt, or shipping fees for contest prizes, then demanding the codes on the back of the cards. Because Steam gift cards are difficult to trace and easy to convert into currency, they have long been abused for fraud; scammers typically sell the codes to third-party sites at a loss to launder the funds.

Valve has not been idle in addressing this. The company implemented a series of countermeasures, including adding fraud warnings to cards, restricting code redemption to the currency of the user's wallet, reducing supply, and suspending sales when suspicious activity is detected. They also collaborated with retailers and law enforcement. However, as these defenses failed to stop scammers, the company ultimately decided to end physical card sales.

Physical cards already purchased can still be used without an expiration date, so there is no need to rush. Furthermore, as this measure applies only to physical cards, digital gift cards will remain available. Valve stated that it plans to improve the experience for digital gift cards moving forward.

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