Via Jez Corden at Windows Central:

Today, Valve confirmed (via SteamDB) that it will no longer offer new stocks of Steam Gift Cards at a retail level. Digital Gift Cards sold directly by Valve will still be available, however.

Valve suggested it is doing this due to how physical gift cards in general are being used to facilitate scams across the world, particularly targeting the vulnerable.

…Valve “suggested” that, did they?

Credit to Corden: other retellings of the story left out even that little bit of doubt, opting for the more simplistic “Valve is fighting scammers.”

User reaction that I’ve seen has been more… nuanced. See, for example, the ResetEra forum, which I’ll paraphrase like so:

• “This sucks.”
• “This sucks, I could get a 1.5% discount using those.”
• “I got a bigger discount.”
• “This sucks, I used it too.”
• “Scammers ruining it for everyone, yet again.”
• “I got them through Gamestop trade-ins.”
• “I got them from Coinstar kiosks.”
• “I could still get them from my local grocery store; I guess I’m one of the lucky few.”
• *I haven’t seen them in my local stores in what feels like forever.”
• “Maybe they just don’t want to give the retailers a cut for selling the cards?”
• “This sucks.”
• “I used them, I like giving my credit-card info to as few online stores as possible.”
• “Me too.”
• “Me too, I had my card number stolen once.”
• “Me too.”
• “I just like foiling financial surveillance on general principles.”
• “This sucks.”
• “Buying Steam through Paypal now.”
• “Buying Steam through a prepaid Visa or something.”
• “I might be off Steam now; I hope Sony doesn’t pull this shit.”
• “Removing options for payment is a bold strategy. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em.”
• “Digital gift cards are still a thing for now, right? Because I buy gift cards to give as gifts.”
• “Fuck it, I’ll be giving the kids Amazon cards instead.”
• “This sucks.”
• “This kind of corporate thinking is why we need to keep buying games on physical disc.”
• “This might be a barrier for older, less tech- and finance-savvy gamers.”
• “I don’t have a credit card.”
• “Some people don’t even have bank accounts, you know.”
• “I’m assuming good intentions on Valve’s part, but this still sucks.”
• “It feels like an excuse, to be honest; there are plenty of purchase scams that take place directly on Steam and that this doesn’t touch.”
• “Scammers are resourceful, and some people are gullible enough to send cash through the fucking mail. Getting rid of gift cards won’t stop people being ripped off.”
• “What about the gray market in keys? Because that’s a scammer’s paradise.”

I saw no mention of Steam trading cards, which are a whole other scammer’s paradise… from which Steam takes transaction fees.

I also saw no direct mention of what I consider the most likely actual reason for this change: verificosis. Gift cards can be bought with cash, and cash isn’t tied to someone’s identity the way plastic is…