Valve has introduced an age verification system for Australian Steam users, requiring a credit card to be linked to their account to purchase games rated R18+. The innovation came into effect yesterday and took thousands of users by surprise, including account holders with many years of purchase history.
Valve’s decision did not come as a surprise in itself – similar measures are already in effect in the PlayStation Store and Xbox. In Australia, digital distribution platforms are legally required to verify the age of purchasers of adult content, with fines for violations reaching up to A$50 million.
The difference is that PlayStation and Xbox offer multiple ways to verify your age, while Valve left users with only one option.
Debit cards are not suitable for verification, even if they are issued to an adult. The system only accepts credit cards, as in Australia you must be 18 years old to apply for them, while a debit card can be issued to teenagers.
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At first glance, the logic is clear, but in practice it creates a lot of problems for people who physically cannot or do not want to use credit products.
There are many reasons why an adult Australian may not have a credit card: – insufficient income to approve the application – failure to meet the credit assessment criteria of a particular bank – bad credit history – fundamental reluctance to spend borrowed funds
PC Gamer journalist Sean Prescott, who encountered the restriction personally, noted that an attempt to open the Doom 2016 game store page resulted in a message asking him to link a valid Australian credit card and update his adult content preferences.
Without this, access to the product page simply does not open – it is now impossible in principle to look at the description, screenshots or system requirements of a game with an R18+ rating.
Users were especially dissatisfied with the fact that the restriction affected not only new purchases, but also previously purchased games. This change affects games you’ve already purchased that remain in your Steam library, although this wasn’t originally intended.
As other participants in the discussion clarified, the restriction only applies to access to the store page – the game files themselves in the library remain available for downloading and launching.
The author of the post with the nickname dvsdmo, who has owned a Steam account for more than 21 years, described the situation as offensive to an adult. He stated the following:
I don’t want to ever own a credit card again. It took me too long to get out of stupid debts to get close to them again. I also don’t want a credit card on my financial history because banks here consider it a negative factor when considering a mortgage application.
According to him, the Visa debit card did not work, and a PayPal account over 18 years old and an email almost 30 years old are not considered by the system as proof of adulthood.
The user suggested that Valve add alternative verification methods: ID card, passport, or age verification through third-party services like PayPal.
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Other commentators have drawn attention to credit card ownership statistics in Australia. User Jimbuscus said that almost half of Australian adults do not have a credit card, and given the age distribution of owners, the average Steam user is even less provided with such a tool.
Separately, he noted the situation of people with disabilities, for many of whom obtaining a credit card is physically inaccessible.
The discussion also touched on differences in attitudes towards credit cards between countries. A user from the United States said that in his country, credit history is critical for almost everything – renting a car, hotel, housing and obtaining loans.
It was explained to him that in Australia, having a credit card, on the contrary, is considered by financial institutions as risky behavior and reduces the chances of approval of a mortgage or loan.
Technically, the limitation can be circumvented. As Reddit users noted, keys for games rated R18+ are still available from third-party sellers like Fanatical and Green Man Gaming, and can be activated on Steam without undergoing additional age verification. However, this method is not suitable for everyone and does not solve the problem systematically.
