As of August 29, Steam users in the UK are required to verify their age on the popular storefront to access pages for games featuring mature content, including themes of a sexual nature and graphic violence. Unlike previous measures from other companies, Steam users who are subject to the UK Online Safety Act only need to add a valid credit card that includes their name and address to be verified by the system.
Steam's age-verifying measure came following some rule changes that determined which games could be sold on its storefront. On July 16, Steam updated its publishing rules that prohibit game content that violates the standards implemented by Steam's payment processors and global network providers. The new rule resulted in some adult-oriented games being removed from Steam. Another PC storefront, itch.io, followed suit with its own rules similar to Steam's changes. The rule has proven controversial, as gamers have launched campaigns against Steam and its payment processors to protest the changes.
3 Co-Op Games with 'Very Positive' Reviews Are Free to Play on Steam Until September 1
Steam surprises fans with a list of free-to-play co-op games, with some also offering discounts for players who want to keep them.
UK Steam Users Must Add A Credit Card To Verify Their Age
With other companies such as Xbox adding age verification measures to comply with the UK Online Safety Act, Steam has now mandated a method for its UK-based users. According to Steam's support page, UK users cannot access store pages that feature mature content or their associated community pages without verifying their age first. Thankfully, the process for Steam users in the UK simply requires adding a valid credit card. This is done by going to the Account Details page after logging in and adding the appropriate credit card details, including the cardholder's name and billing address. Users who already have a credit card on file with Steam are not subject to the age verification check. After adding a credit card, users may have to enter an additional one-time password as part of Steam's verification checks.
While other countries may simply ask Steam users for their birthdate to access game pages with mature content, the move for UK users was made ahead of the country's Online Safety Act going into full effect in 2026. By comparison, Discord's age verification measures, which require users to take a picture to verify their identity, have been circumvented by using Death Stranding 2's photo mode to bypass the process.
Though protests against Steam and its payment processors continue to gain traction on social media, the company's exclusion of requiring a photo ID for its age verification measures is noteworthy. It remains to be seen how effective Steam's age-verifying tools will be in the long term.
