CONSUMER & RETAIL
Steam Retires Physical Gift Cards as an Anti-Fraud Measure
# Steam# gift cards# fraud prevention# Valve
Key Points
- Valve stopped restocking physical Steam gift cards at retail
- Stocks will sell out across stores by the end of 2026
- Digital gift cards continue; fraud prevention cited as the reason
Analysis
Valve will stop restocking physical Steam gift cards, letting retail stocks run out by end-2026 while digital cards continue. Physical cards were scammers' favorite payment demand — killing the product line solves a crime problem by design.