Physical Steam Gift Cards discontinued. Scammers are to blame.

A matter of weeks after Steam Deck devices got a massive price increase, Valve is taking another difficult measure that will make things slightly less convenient for players.

The owner of the biggest digital storefront for PC games announced this week (via SteamDB) that it will no longer manufacture or sell physical Steam gift cards at retail stores. The reason, of course, is that scammers use these cards for all sorts of malicious behaviors, and Valve has admitted that it can't come up with a surefire, ironclad way to stop bad actors short of just ceasing gift card production altogether.

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"As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted," Valve said. "They continue to have an impact on Steam customers and other unsuspecting individuals."

The good news is that digital gift cards, which can be purchased and gifted directly at the account level, will remain an option for Steam users. Valve noted that it added guest checkout as a feature last year, making it easier for people to buy one without having their own account.

Still, considering how long the little rack of video game marketplace gift cards has adorned retail checkout lines, this does feel like the beginning of the end of an era, to some extent.