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It will soon be the end of an era for Steam Gift Cards, as Valve announced it is shifting from digital and physical ones sold in retail stores to only virtual ones as a result of scammers. While it had been selling them in-stores for gifting purposes for 14 years, it is ending the program. No new cards will be made and sent to stores. The company doesn’t have a set end date for when it expects them to stop showing up in stores. Stores like Best Buy are still showing the listings for them.
When explaining why no more physical Steam Gift Cards will be sold in retail stores, Valve said it couldn’t keep up with the scammers’ programs and tricks to prevent fraudulent and illegal behavior. It also noted that it attempted to fight back by working with police and stores, adding limitations to card usage, and even changing how they looked, but nothing worked. It turned to discontinuing to stop things for good.
This means no more of those gift cards will be made. If a store did previously carry them, like Best Buy or Sam’s Club, they still will for the time being. However, when those run out, that’s it. Valve says that will happen “by the end of 2026.”
Valve is now no longer producing physical Steam Gift Cards and will only offer digital ones purchased through its storefront for use.
