As part of the effects of the UK's Online Safety Act, Steam is now requiring proof and age verification for users in the UK, if they wish to purchase mature games. Before, users would simply input their date of birth, but now, it has to be proven. The steps to access mature games requires customers to be signed into a Steam account, go to their account settings, and opt-in to mature content games. Once you've opted in, you'll have to verify your age, by adding a credit card to your account. This will trigger a $0 charge to the card, and then allow access.

Why we use this process​

In the UK, Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety. Ofcom’s guidance on the OSA states that one highly effective age assurance measure is credit card checks. This is because, in the UK, an individual must be at least 18 years of age to obtain a credit card, therefore credit card issuers are obliged to verify the age of an applicant before providing them with a credit card.

Having the credit card stored as a payment method acts as an additional deterrent against circumventing age verification by sharing a single Steam user account among multiple persons.

Privacy and security​

Among all age assurance mechanisms reviewed by Valve, this process preserves the maximum degree of user privacy.

The data processed in the verification process is identical to that of the millions of other Steam users who make purchases or store their payment details for convenience. The verification process therefore provides no information about a user's content preferences to payment providers or other third parties.

Valve handles the verification process using its own internal payment processing system, which is independently certified under the PCI-DSS standard.

To find out more about our privacy practices, please see our privacy policy

Contesting an incorrect age assurance status​

Should you be unable to register your credit card on Steam, please contact your local bank. Our data minimal approach means that we typically do not have insight into reasons why a given credit card use fails. However, should you not be able to resolve such an issue with your bank, please open a Steam Support ticket.

Source

 

[yankii]

Or you're implying that what's happening in that part of the world in 2025 is very different from what happened in that part of the world in 1940?

Kind of; the government has slightly more trouble making up bogus reasons to kill innocent people these days - a plus in my book.

 

[munnimann]

Steam: Requires credit card for hentai games.

People on this forum: Nazis were actually great.

 

[Skelletonike]

A card yes, but not necessarily a credit card. I don’t even have a credit card, I’m all debit lol. Gotta wonder how many people will get them with things like this becoming more common.

As far as I know debit cards work as well (as long as they are from banks and not those temporary pre-paid ones).
At least that's how it worked a few years ago (some websites stuff did require this very same method like 10 years ago).

 

[Scarlet]

As far as I know debit cards work as well (as long as they are from banks and not those temporary pre-paid ones).
At least that's how it worked a few years ago (some websites stuff did require this very same method like 10 years ago).

Again, they do not. I'm in the UK and have tried these.

 

[Ondrashek06]

This thread is another solid example of Godwin's Law in action. Why the fuck are we discussing Nazi Germany in a topic about Steam and age verification?

 

[rsc-pl]

The law isn't about protecting kids, it never was. Think of the children is just the wedge to get it in.

This law is about normalising handing over ID online, so it's not such a big leap when eventually the "digital id" comes along and ties all your online activities to a government profile.
It's about suppressing stuff the government doesn't want you to see, like illegal immigration. 16 years old will be able to vote at the next election, but stuff like that can be age gated. Odd that, next election is likely to be fought over immigration and oh look, age gated. The categories of "harmful" stuff are broad, easy to twist and use as a hammer to set ofcom on things the government doesn't like. There's also nice things in there like "it's an offence to cause non trivial psychological harm with a false statement". So thought policing, non trivial harm isn't defined anyway (or it wasn't when I looked), so that will certainly be applied equally and fairly, I'm sure.

Governments defence of it is literally "you are on the side of Jimmy Savile" if you are against it. That's not a joke or hyperbole, Peter Kyle, government minister, the Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary literally said that. It's been repeated by other Labour mps. Then went on TV and begged people not to use a VPN because if you do, you are harming children.

Can't actually defend the criticisms, no, just accuse everyone of being on the side of Jimmy Savile, says it all.

Same as the snoopers charter (isps have to log & store connection records for 12 months). That was also "think of the children". Nothing to do with surveillance, just pure coincidence that it never went through until mps were opted out despite mps constantly being reveled as sex pests or you know watching porn, no sorry, tractors in parliament.

No law that strips away privacy and freedom in the name of “security” has ever been about safety - it has always been about control.
And if this for some reason still isn’t clear in 2025 for someone, it probably never will be.

 

[Deleted member 753700]

Late stage capitalism isn't a thing.

are you blind or just stupid

 

[MarkDarkness]

Good. The government has set up a mass-scale experiment that will allow quant research to show that this doesn't work. This is actually a GOOD thing.

 

[Asia81]

fine, i'll pirate then

 

[BlusterBong]

I kinda find it funny that 4chan and a certain new zeland fruit site are the ones actively fighting the UK's "online safety" law in lawfare but GabN, the supposed hero of Gaming and god among men with far more money than both combined just caved to a bunch of brits demanding Orwellian level access to who you are.

Really tells ya GabN's priorities in spite of how much he's "pro consumer"

 

[tech3475]

As far as I know debit cards work as well (as long as they are from banks and not those temporary pre-paid ones).
At least that's how it worked a few years ago (some websites stuff did require this very same method like 10 years ago).

I just did a test.

I added one of my debit cards and the warning remained, it wasn't until I added an actual CC that the warning disappeared.

 

[x65943]

Seriously? Who's letting kids on Steam unmonitored, anyway?!?

If you were a kid in the 90s your parents often had such little clue about what a computer was - they didn't even begin to understand how to monitor

Nowadays tho I suspect parents are slightly less oblivious having mostly grown up with computers themselves

 

[Xzi]

Nowadays tho I suspect parents are slightly less oblivious having mostly grown up with computers themselves

Less oblivious, but everything costs more and wages have remained stagnant. Which means the bigger issue now is not having the time/energy to monitor kids' online activity, as both parents need a full-time job just to afford rent plus food.

 

[chrisrlink]

if this comes to the US I'd be sol being on disability one thing thats extremely hard to get if not almost impossible is a CC then again relying on SSI is a gamble now a days

 

[DragonMals]

At least we have another way that's done in a much more comfortable and less revealing way than hoe everyone is doing it. New grounds handled this appropriately, and now steam is doing the same. I wonder how Discord is doing this type of stuff...?

 

[Armadillo]

if this comes to the US I'd be sol being on disability one thing thats extremely hard to get if not almost impossible is a CC then again relying on SSI is a gamble now a days

People will just go back to sailing the seas. Already seeing multiple UK users saying they will go back to their old ways if they are blocked from legally buying a game.

At least we have another way that's done in a much more comfortable and less revealing way than hoe everyone is doing it. New grounds handled this appropriately, and now steam is doing the same. I wonder how Discord is doing this type of stuff...?

Discord already has verification in the UK, it's selfie or photo id through K-id. Discord is an easy bypass though, vpn gets rid of it (even with a uk phone number linked).

The law is an arse, but it's here for at least 4 years, Steam just needs to offer another method along side credit card for those without one (whether you want to use that method is another matter, but it should be available).

Just another thing showing how poorly thought out the law is. Should have mandated that multiple methods need to be available to limit the risk of locking out adults.

 

[chrisrlink]

People will just go back to sailing the seas. Already seeing multiple UK users saying they will go back to their old ways if they are blocked from legally buying a game.



Discord already has verification in the UK, it's selfie or photo id through K-id. Discord is an easy bypass though, vpn gets rid of it (even with a uk phone number linked).

The law is an arse, but it's here for at least 4 years, Steam just needs to offer another method along side credit card for those without one (whether you want to use that method is another matter, but it should be available).

Just another thing showing how poorly thought out the law is. Should have mandated that multiple methods need to be available to limit the risk of locking out adults.

yeah this will totally backfire piracy will go up by alot and they better pray nothing worse happens if the UK completely stamps that out

 

[Lumpofcoal]

I have a feeling that the UK govt (at least the current one) won't be satisfied with just this. They will likely cite reasons to demand even more draconic measures (my belief is that nothing short of uploading a personal ID to be tracked or even having each purchase be approved by the UK police will satisfy them) and moreover, extending it to the whole world. For example, they could claim that UK users could use vpn to make alts to bypass it. Or they could get their steam friends to gift them. Or they could just buy steam wallet or sell things on the steam market. Or that parents who don't mind (I think most parents don't care about Elden Ring being rated M) could allow their children to use their cards to make such purchases.

That means in time, the UK govt could demand that it be extended to all steam users to ensure that UK users don't "hide" amongst the international crowd. But at least there would likely be push back from other govts over the data of their own citizens being handed over to the UK. The UK should be careful that they don't veer into extraterritoriality, reminiscent of its days as a colonial master, albeit in the internet space.

It would be ironic if the requirements become so onerous that Steam is forced to create a "separate" steam app and store for the UK like what they did for China.

On a note, assuming only CCs are allowed and not debits, it would create a form of inequality as only the more well-off would be able to qualify for a CC since there are usually minimum income requirements for it.

 

[doorbell8423]

.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

... wasnt it the case already?

Post automatically merged: Aug 31, 2025

I have a feeling that the UK govt (at least the current one) won't be satisfied with just this. They will likely cite reasons to demand even more draconic measures (my belief is that nothing short of uploading a personal ID to be tracked or even having each purchase be approved by the UK police will satisfy them) and moreover, extending it to the whole world. For example, they could claim that UK users could use vpn to make alts to bypass it. Or they could get their steam friends to gift them. Or they could just buy steam wallet or sell things on the steam market. Or that parents who don't mind (I think most parents don't care about Elden Ring being rated M) could allow their children to use their cards to make such purchases.

That means in time, the UK govt could demand that it be extended to all steam users to ensure that UK users don't "hide" amongst the international crowd. But at least there would likely be push back from other govts over the data of their own citizens being handed over to the UK. The UK should be careful that they don't veer into extraterritoriality, reminiscent of its days as a colonial master, albeit in the internet space.

It would be ironic if the requirements become so onerous that Steam is forced to create a "separate" steam app and store for the UK like what they did for China.

On a note, assuming only CCs are allowed and not debits, it would create a form of inequality as only the more well-off would be able to qualify for a CC since there are usually minimum income requirements for it.

Thats a lot of imagination considering it was the previous government who wrote the entire process