Following the implementation of the United Kingdom`s Online Safety Act in July, online platforms are now obligated to perform age verification checks for any content potentially deemed `harmful to children.` This legislation has impacted various digital services, including social media platforms such as X, websites featuring adult content, and even Xbox, which plans to introduce age verification in the UK next year. In response, Valve has rolled out its own age verification system for Steam, mandating that users in the UK register a credit card to their account before being able to view specific mature-rated games.
According to a recently published Steam support page, `Age Assurance Under the UK Online Safety Act,` Valve clarifies the new protocol. Users wishing to browse store pages for mature content games or their related community hubs must be logged into an active account and explicitly enable this access through their account settings. Specifically for users located in the UK, this opt-in procedure necessitates age verification. A UK Steam account will retain its age-verified status as long as a valid credit card remains linked to it.
Valve justifies this approach by citing Ofcom, the UK`s regulatory and competition authority, which has recognized credit card checks as a highly effective method for age verification, given that individuals must be 18 years or older to acquire a credit card. It has been observed that UK debit cards are not accepted for this verification, likely because debit cards can be obtained by individuals as young as 11 in the UK, rendering them unsuitable for adult age confirmation.
Interestingly, the Steam support documentation does not explicitly define what constitutes a `mature` game under this new policy. Titles featuring violence and some sexual content, such as Baldur`s Gate 3 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, alongside controversial games like Postal 2, remain accessible without this specific credit card verification. However, the requirement for games where sexual content is a primary focus appears to vary significantly from one title to another.
Steam is not alone in implementing restrictions in response to the Online Safety Act. Another digital game storefront, Itch.io, has similarly made affected product pages completely inaccessible to UK users until it successfully integrates a third-party age verification solution.