Proof-of-Age Verification for Steam in Australia Now Only Possible Using a Credit Card

“Valve is required by the Age-Restricted Material App Distribution Services Code to verify that you are 18 or older before accessing mature content. If you wish to do so, please add a valid Australian credit card to your account and afterwards update the Mature Content Preferences.”

Of course, not all Australian Steam users over 18 have a credit card, or indeed want a credit card – when there are already a ton of more convenient ways to make purchases online. Unfortunately for Australian Steam users, an active credit card is all Valve is willing to accept, despite other methods of verification being readily available. This active credit card also reportedly needs to remain active on the account, even if you do not want to make purchases with it.

The fact that Valve’s proof-of-age verification “system” has come so late and yet is so unfit for purpose is either arrogance or naivety on the company’s part, considering how significantly credit card ownership in Australia has fallen over the past decade. Today, only around half of Australian consumers even have a credit card, with adoption lowest amongst young adults (only around a quarter of Australian consumers aged 18 to 24 have a credit card). Credit cards are entirely unnecessary to make online purchases in 2026, and Valve should have known better considering its payment option data in Australia ought to have made that more than evident.

IGN has contacted Valve for comment.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.