“Steam started blocking Australian users from viewing or buying 18+ rated games on September 9, 2026, unless they attach a valid credit card to their account. Valve’s rollout affects hundreds of mature-rated titles, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom Eternal, and it doesn’t matter whether the account is brand new or fifteen years old with a library full of paid-for adult games. Without a credit card on file, those store pages, search results, and even home-page recommendations simply disappear.”
This implementation of age verification by Valve is at-best so poorly considered that I expect them to re-evaluate soon. The first issue is that they want the card on-file. I purchased a game for my child on Monday, using a Credit Card. So, I obviously have a credit card. I didn’t keep the card on-file, I used it for a single purchase. My Steam account is still age-locked.
I will concede that ‘age of account’ alone isn’t too good of a test - I created a Steam accounts for my kids when they were little (2 and 5). The oldest has started using his account, the youngest will probably start next year. XBox used account activity - and that’s a better test. Having 15 years of gaming history is a better test than a 10-year-old account that only started seeing regular use 2 years ago.
Because I know far too much about these age verification laws (for obvious reasons), I can also attest that Valve is not complying with the Age Verification as outlined in Regulatory guidance. If you are willing to go through the document, the relevant section is:
2.3.3 Accessible, inclusive and fair
Providers should ensure age assurance methods and surrounding systems and processes are accessible, inclusive and fair.That same section also goes on to give advice on verification means, saying it should not discriminate end-users based on pretty-much any metric you can think of. They especially call-out discrimination against Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. A demographic where the majority of citizens do not have credit cards. They also fail to follow the guidance “Providers should offer a choice between a range of age assurance methods”.
Valve wrote to the eSafety commissioner a year ago, requesting to be exempt from the law. They were denied. Assorted sites are claiming that eSafety Commissioner’s office is engaging with Valve (example), though I haven’t found anything on their website to acknowledge that. In short, Valve are not presently complying with the law and something will need to give.
I called their age verification implementation “poorly considered”, because I actually think they’re being intentionally belligerent. I suspect they are hoping the government is going to back down. I don’t know how that’s going to play out, or how the eSafety commissioner is going to respond. I don’t know what ‘big guns’ the government has here. This case is fascinating to observe from the side-lines.
because I actually think they’re being intentionally belligerent
Yeah, this screams malicious compliance.
They’re waiting to see if the Australian government will blink.It’s gonna be a nasty battle but the truth is the Gov should stand firm, because there is gonna be a wave of other tech that will be testing the line soon. There are non invasive options to prove you are over 18 but tech just wants to continue its unregulated abuses
I like steam however I will never be handing over credentials to a company just to be on a social media or platform. I’d rather stick an old fashioned disc in.
I agree with the other comment, valve knows piracy is a service problem. Unfortunately as with cigarettes the gov is happy to test legal VRS black market routes.
We’re not discussing exploitative porn or handing out guns and drugs here, this is a platform for distributing art.
I don’t want the Australian Government censoring things, or deciding who can and cannot view art and in what circumstances.
I want them making guidelines about labelling, so that citizens can make informed decisions about what they and their children view.Discussing the particular method that Valve should implement this farce is talking past the point as far as I’m concerned.
The government is not doing those things. Valve is. The purpose of the social media law is to prevent people under 16 from from being able to post online (they’re allowed to read).
Is it a stupid law? Yes.
Should it be the parent’s responsibility to be aware of what their kids are doing/exposed to online? Also, yes.I don’t know how this has turned into some sort of discussion about the games themselves. It’s the Community Hub where users discuss games that is the issue as far as the government is concerned. Valve has responded by making it about the games. Probably because if they blocked our access to the Community Hubs, most of us wouldn’t notice/care.
All that said: Whether I agree with a law or not, I do believe the government should have the leverage to enforce the law. The other side of the discussion is valid also though. I believe Valve should have the right to say ‘no’ to laws from foreign nations. I don’t know what the consequences should be in that case though. Provide refunds for our purchases and close our accounts? I can’t see that being viable.
Like I said: fascinating to watch this play out.
The purpose of the social media law is to prevent people under 16 from from being able to post online (they’re allowed to read).
Age verification for app stores including the Steam store, adult media etc is only slightly related to the under 16 social media restrictions on the interactive side. The social media rules were rushed through in a moral panic but all the other restrictions have been in the works for a long time and there has been a lot of industry discussion.
The reported aim is to bring online 18+ content into line with the physical world where a minor can’t walk into a brothel, adult shop or casino or buy alcohol or tobacco. Obviously quite a lot of us think there is a secondary objective of de-anonymizing Internet use for data collection, both corporate and government.
The scope and ambition of the esafety commisioner is very broad. There are discussions down to the level of operating systems, devices and browsers.
Valve’s justification for an exemption according to that letter I linked above was that Community Hub was an incidental side feature of Steam. Essentially the same argument that got GitHub an exemption. I even agree with them.
An overall age verification strategy for all online content would answer the question though.
I’ve come at the situation in the context of the social media changes, because that’s what Valve cited in their letter.
I absolutely agree about the hub. I see this less of an issue about the game. Its more about the platforms who are choosing to ignore bigger issues. This is then causing issue in our wider communities.
Its like asking are Cars good or bad?
Do you think tech will play fair and self regulate?
I think Valve would be one of the ‘least dirty’ players out there. This isn’t just gaming, its all media really, this is just one of the first to tackle incoming changes. In terms of the games Guidance and signposting has been in place for a long time. Games are not simply Art open to interpretation, most are harmless, but there’s a rating system on them for a reason.
Another aspect is the extension of gaming culture and what comes with that, there are arguments that boys and young men are more susceptible to their identities being shaped from people in the gaming sphere. Those actors can be unhealthy (mentally). I think the game is seen as the root of the problem…therefore an easy target for regulation.
I agree the Gov shouldn’t have to censor but its still sensitive information shared so they have stepped up. I hate over authoritative compliance, but at this stage no one else is going up against tech and the way they operate to hook young users.
I also agree that parents play a part but TBH the amount of parents who are equally conditioned just as much a problem.
I don’t quite get your logic about ‘age of account’
I created a Steam accounts for my kids when they were little (2 and 5). The oldest has started using his account, the youngest will probably start next year. XBox used account activity - and that’s a better test. Having 15 years of gaming history is a better test than a 10-year-old account that only started seeing regular use 2 years ago.
Going by age would mean that by the time the account is 18 your kids would be 20 and 23. So when they turn 18 they would have to wait another 2/5 years before this method would work for them.
Using account activity, if you’re 18 but only started gaming at 12, you’d have to wait till you’re 30.
Why would that be better? Imho, that’s worse.Aside from the fact, that neither is actually a confirmation of a person’s actual age.
Poor wording on my part. People are saying things like ‘unless I made my account when I was 3, my fifteen year old account should be enough’. Fifteen years of gaming history on the other hand is reasonable evidence of the account holder’s age.
In my example, My son will have a 15-year-old account by the time he turns 17. I made them because I thought it’d be a fun bit of clout when they start playing with their mates. ‘How do you have a 10+ year badge already?’.
It is interesting to see where this goes, but as an Australian, it is far from fascinating; concerning seems a more accurate descriptor. Australia is obviously a very small market for steam, so it would not surprise me if they are using us as a testing ground for all of this. I assume something will have changed in another weeks time, not necessarily for the better though.
The cosy game industry is clearly behind this /s
We are small, but lucrative. If something is introduced where Valve faces losing access to the Australian market, they’ll 100% cave. No ‘principal’ from their end is worth however many Millions of dollars they receive from this market - particularly since they do honestly have actual competition. Valve enjoys market share mostly because they were first and are convenient. If they cease to be convenient, they will lose that share overnight. We’re already seeing people in this thread say they are going to stop buying games on Steam. The main reason I do most of my shopping at the Steam Store is that most of my library is there. Not for any other particular reason.
I don’t know what the the government can do that will stop people dealing with Steam, unless they can intervene at the bank level. That’s where the fascination is coming from. This is the first decent-sized site to show this level of resistance to the policy.
Steam won’t lose access to the market, this will just be a hiccup
- some people with credit cards will use them
- some people will get credit cards just for this purpose (and then end up in debt)
- some people will just wait to see what happens
- steam will open this up to other verification methods (good, or bad)
Any customers that steam loses due to this, will be quickly replaced, large companies are generally not overly worried about losing customers due to new customers being born every single day
“This is the first decent-sized site to show this level of resistance to the policy.” What?
The government has the ability and precedent to direct Australian banks to cut off merchants. It’s used routinely for scammers, dodgy overseas pharmacies, online gambling sites - stuff that isn’t compliant with Australian law. I don’t know whether the eSafety Commissioner has access to those powers, but yes - the possibility that Valve loses the Australian market has precedence.
Of course, I can’t see it going that far, because I think they’d cave and comply with Australian law before we got to that stage.
“This is the first decent-sized site to show this level of resistance to the policy.” What?
Can you name another company with hundred of millions of dollars in revenue in Australia that has played this sort of game with the Social Media law? The closest I can think of was when Facebook tried to play games with Online News - and they caved and paid up for three years before abandoning Facebook News in Australia.
I’m not aware of steam giving any reason for anyone to believe they are resisting anything, they appear to be doing the opposite since the Australian government wants ID on everything digital.
Wanting to believe they are playing a game, doesn’t mean that they are.
I’m guessing credit card applications have increased in the last week.
Australian government wants ID on everything digital
This is incorrect. In fact, the OAIC recommends that providers do the opposite:
The OAIC encourages entities to adopt a ‘privacy by design’ approach when selecting an assurance method. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a systematic assessment that identifies the privacy impact on individuals, and sets out recommendations for managing, minimising or eliminating that impact. A PIA demonstrates commitment to, and respect of, individual’s privacy.
Plus, there are a bunch of extra rules if you do have ID on your users. I don’t know how you got that impression, but it is mistaken.
Removed by mod
Absolutely this is Valve trying malicious compliance. And it’s going to bite them hugely.
My Steam account is actually old enough to vote itself at this point. I don’t see where “challenging” me will do anytihng but force me to provide an attack surface
That is a future problem that even the credit card crap doesn’t solve.
Your steam account could be 20 years old, but it could have been given to you, and it could have been age verified with a credit card by the original owner, in reality the current system does not even prove your age… so if they want to really prove your age it will end up being forced random video/photo while you are using it.
22 year old steam account, never had a credit card on the account and never will. Locked out of games I paid for. And just like that, my time buying games through steam is done.
Locked out of games I paid for.
You can still install and play games you’ve bought (I have personally verified this), you just can’t view the store page, which is more than a little silly.
But yes, GOG deserves our money more: DRM-free and preserving old games. I always buy from them if I can.
I don’t have cyberpunk installed. I can’t install it.
What happens when you try?
Yeah, you need to go through ‘Library’, not ‘Store’.
Library > Search ‘Cyberpunk’ > Click it > Click ‘Install’
you need
No, I don’t.
I need to be able to access games I paid for, without arbitrary lockdowns.
I can’t, so my time with steam is done…
Sure, do what you want, of course, but you said “I can’t install it.”, and that’s not true.
If you want to go support GOG by buying another copy of your games there, I think that’s great! But other people might not be able to or want to do that, and I wouldn’t want them to think they can’t play their games on Steam anymore when they can.
Like, you might not be 18. How on earth could they know? They didn’t check your I’d 22 years ago. So it makes sense to do so now.
You should still be able to install and play previously purchased games, just not buy new 18+ ones
Firstly, I can’t install games that are locked down, so I can’t access my own copy of cyberpunk, because I can’t reinstall it.
Even if I could reinstall it, but was locked out of future R rated purchases, that would be the end of my steam purchasing, because fuck that
Are you trying to reinstall from the store page? It should work if you search your library directly.
My account is “unverified” just like yours and I’m able to reinstall cyberpunk perfectly fine, even though the store page is locked down.
Haven’t tried that, because I don’t actually plan on re-installing, but it looks like it would work.
Either way, steam is dead to me now, so workarounds or not, they will see no more of my money
You are blaming the wrong party, blame the government for forcing Valve to do this, Valve isn’t doing this because they want to.
I kinda disagree. Steam is being lazy in this.
Social media and other providers know if they ignore the problem enough people will get mad at the gov.
I don’t disagree that the gov/regulators have approached this half baked however the onus should be on the provider to put together a solution. They ain’t.
Details seem to be a bit all over the place on the internet (business as usual), even though this is a week old.
Some are suggesting that:
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MA15 games are also blocked (I don’t believe that is true though?)
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This also blocks the reinstallation of existing purchases (a very big deal if so)
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Mastercard debit cards work, but visa debit cards do not work
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The big 4 dirty banks work, but the others do not
I’ve tested this myself with these results
- MA15 is ok
- Reinstallation of Witcher 3 is ok
- MasterCard and Visa both do not work.
- Visiting the Steam store page for Witcher 3 is blocked for me.
When I contacted Steam support they said specifically only “credit cards” being on file is supported. However, they indicated they would be adding additional verification methods in the future.
If people are finding success with specific debit banks and debit cards, I’m more likely to believe that is an unintended bug or something strange going on than an intended feature.
The bug thing/half-arsed implementation seems very likely. Someone also mentioned something about different banks using different age verification levels/systems, and that potentially having something to do with it. Too many guesses involved though.
- This also blocks the reinstallation of existing purchases (a very big deal if so)
I’ve checked this. I was able to install an already-owned R18+ game with no problems. I can’t view its store page.
- MA15 games are also blocked (I don’t believe that is true though?)
Not as far as I’ve seen. The Witcher is MA15+, and I can view its store page.
That’s all just my experience, though. Maybe other people are having a different experience, but I suggest people try for themselves instead of accepting worst case scenarios people are saying online.
Good to know about reinstallation.
I checked roughly 10 games on my wishlist and could view all of them. The details re: game rating seem to be obscure on steam, it’s not something I have looked for before.
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Old man here. Never had a credit card. Don’t believe in them. Kids have had Spriggy debit visa cards for years and use them to buy Steam games (under some supervision) so it would be working as intended on that side. Doom Eternal, bought with a non-bank adult debit visa is still showing in the family library.
Edit: Ok, confirmed this shit show does appear to be real. We can run purchased games from the family library but can’t view them in the store and a minor bank adult debit visa doesn’t unlock age verification. Another angry parent letter to the office of Anika Wells I guess. Can’t entirely blame Valve when the legislation is half arsed and broken.
Edit 2: As inconvenient as it is choosing only CC verification it might be reasonable choice for Valve. I don’t want to use some dodgy third party verification service and its probably a good thing that isn’t being presented as an option. Most of the blame has to be with the eSafety commissioner, Communications minister and everyone who voted for the legislation.
One of the issues with cc verification is that it blocks people due to the need to meet certain criteria to get a credit card. Another issue is that this will ‘force’ people into getting credit cards, when they may not have ever considered doing so, and credit cards can be very dangerous (not just their sharp edges).
Last I looked there was also a lack of fee free credit credits available these days, at least from anyone ‘decent’ (not the big 4)
I agree re: the 3rd party bollocks, that is a guaranteed no for me.
I won’t be getting a credit card. Hard no. Not ever. My bank knows exactly how old I am. I am ok with an over 18 boolean passing over the merchant transaction. I already have a three way relationship with valve and my bank.
I don’t even have a meta account and can’t see local food menus, community events, kids sports or school info. It has taken over everything even the used market. If I can live with that then no way I am going to cave to some orwellian age verification bullshit just to play a game. I can live without.
Gabe knows piracy is a service problem, not a pricing problem. Valve would be very aware that broken age verification damages their service and what the consequences will be. I am sure if they had a good legal alternative they would have gone with it.
There is always emulation
Social media definitely isn’t something I would ever provide id for
The commbank neo has no fee if you don’t hold a balance month to month
commbank is evil though
Pick your battles, boobies on steam or big bank bad
This isn’t about boobies on steam (even if they say it is)
This effects games that are violent etc
I’m definitely not signing up to one of the big 4 banks so that I can game.
Were I to go down that route I would get a paid credit card, and just see that $59 (or whatever) per year as part of the cost of gaming.
The zombies who use the big 4 banks are the same people who keep voting for the duopoly, or the other right wing trash parties, the same people who got us into this fascist shitopia
What is your retired/unemployed and can’t get a card?
I’m retired and my income from investments is enough for me to survive but not enough to qualify for a credit card. Thankfully I changed my steam region to Malaysia years ago to benefit from the lower prices so this change doesn’t affect my account.
This implementation reeks of ‘this would be reasonable in the US so it should be fine for Australia’. Next they’ll be asking us to take out our cheque books.
Annoying as anything. I don’t have a credit card, and I am WELL over 18. Locked out from games I’d planned for purchase and Steam is just shrugging and saying they are following govt rules, and there is no other way to age verify. Not even close to being accessible and fair
For me, my debit card thats tied to my homeloan account works (ill never get a credit card and pay annual fees just to age-check a fucking game) but i’ve found after a few days it forgets and i gotta add the card all over again.
Also seems to be random with how it determines what games are age checked. Metal Gear Solid needs age verification but Bloodtrail (a fucking Vr serial killer simulator) is all g
Last time I checked Bank Australia still had a no fee credit card, that was probably a year ago. No fee cards seem to be very rare now. I no longer have, or want a credit card at all.
I’m holding off on trying my 2 (visa, non big bank) debit cards for now, since this appears to be such a mess.
Steam should have contacted account holders with accurate details already, they are still sending me wishlist emails.
I dont know why its tied to credit cards. Porn sites accept a face scan lol id rather that
I have zero interest in using a 3rd party app with, or without a photo (but especially with) to verify my age, or identity
I basically trust steam (not as much as their plethora of fans), so I wouldn’t have a real issue with adding a debit card if that worked.
This really does not bode well though.
vpn to new zealand seems to work. I haven’t encountered this, even if i go back to australia. Although steam should be able to work out I am from australia based on my mobile? anyway, i’ll update this comment if that changes
vpn to new zealand allows you to look at the website, but it blocks you if you are logged in with an account registered in Australia, or at least that is the case for me.
Yeah it bases it on what currency you pay with it looks like, so it will be hell to circumvent. I dont even know how you can do that.
You can technically change the region of your steam account but it’s not something you can do often or easily. They lock you into a region to prevent you from country hopping to get cheaper prices on games that implement region pricing.
ok so its not working for new games, currently installed games are working
actually my mobile is not connected
