Steam users in the United Kingdom woke up to a new reality on August 29, 2025: if they want to access mature-rated games, they now have to prove they’re old enough—no more simply typing in a date of birth and clicking through. Instead, Valve, the company behind Steam, has rolled out a credit card-based age verification system for all UK-based accounts, in direct response to the UK’s recently enacted Online Safety Act (OSA).
According to Valve’s official statements and support documentation, the move is designed to comply with Ofcom’s guidance on the OSA. Ofcom, the UK’s independent online safety regulator, has made it clear that “one highly effective age assurance measure is credit card checks.” Why? In the UK, you have to be at least 18 to get a credit card, and banks are required to verify an applicant’s age before issuing one. As Valve puts it, “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.”
So, what does this mean for the average gamer? The process is (mostly) straightforward, if a little more involved than before. First, users must be signed in to their Steam account and head to their account settings. There, they can opt in to mature content games. Once opted in, the crucial step is to add a valid credit card to the account. This triggers a $0 charge—just enough to check the card’s validity, but not enough to ding your bank statement. Once the card is linked, the account is considered “age verified” for as long as the card remains on file.
Valve has emphasized that this approach is not only effective, but also privacy-conscious. The company states that, among all the age assurance mechanisms it reviewed, the credit card method “preserves the maximum degree of user privacy.” All data processed during verification is identical to what millions of other Steam users provide when making purchases or storing payment details for convenience. No information about a user’s content preferences is shared with payment providers or third parties, and the entire process is handled internally by Valve’s own payment processing system, which is independently certified under the PCI-DSS standard.
This isn’t just a one-off move by Valve. It’s part of a larger trend sweeping across digital platforms in the UK and, perhaps soon, elsewhere. Earlier this summer, Pornhub was among the first major sites hit by the OSA’s requirements. The result? According to data reported by various outlets, UK traffic to Pornhub dropped by almost 50% in the first two weeks after mandatory ID, credit card, or facial scan verification was introduced—over a million visits lost in a fortnight. Microsoft, too, has started rolling out its own age verification system for Xbox accounts, with full enforcement expected in early 2026.
Valve’s new requirements are, for now, limited to UK-based accounts. But as more companies adapt to the OSA and similar legislation, it’s not hard to imagine other regions following suit. As one industry observer put it, “Given the precedent with Pornhub, Microsoft, and now Valve, it remains to be seen whether regulators in other regions will follow the same path.” For the time being, though, UK gamers are the only ones facing this extra step when they want to buy or play mature games on Steam.
For users who encounter trouble registering their credit card—perhaps because their bank blocks the $0 authorization, or the card is rejected—Valve offers some advice. First, check with your bank to resolve any issues. If that doesn’t work, users are encouraged to open a Steam Support ticket for further assistance. Valve notes that, due to its “data minimal approach,” it typically doesn’t have insight into the specific reasons why a given credit card might fail during the process.
The broader context, of course, is the UK’s Online Safety Act itself. Passed amid ongoing concerns about children’s exposure to harmful online content, the OSA places new obligations on digital platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access to adult material. Ofcom’s guidance is clear: platforms must adopt “highly effective” age assurance measures, and credit card checks are at the top of the list. The logic is simple—if you need to be 18 to possess a credit card, then requiring one for age verification should, in theory, keep minors out.
But not everyone is convinced that credit card verification is a perfect solution. Some privacy advocates worry that tying access to mature content to financial instruments could create new risks, especially if data were ever mishandled. Valve, for its part, has tried to address these concerns head-on, stating that “the verification process provides no information about a user's content preferences to payment providers or other third parties” and that all sensitive data is handled internally, with no external access.
There’s also the question of accessibility. What about adults who don’t have a credit card—perhaps because they prefer debit cards, prepaid cards, or simply don’t use credit? For now, Valve’s system requires a valid credit card for verification, which could leave some legitimate users out in the cold. The company hasn’t announced alternative methods for those without credit cards, though it encourages anyone facing difficulties to reach out to support.
What’s clear is that the landscape for accessing mature content online is shifting rapidly in the UK. The OSA’s impact has already been felt across adult websites, gaming platforms, and soon, gaming consoles. The nearly 50% drop in UK traffic to Pornhub after implementing age verification shows just how significant these changes can be. Whether Steam will see a similar dip in mature game purchases remains to be seen, but the precedent is certainly there.
For now, UK gamers who want to play the latest mature-rated titles on Steam will need to have a credit card handy. The process is quick, relatively painless, and, according to Valve, designed to keep personal data secure. But it’s also a sign of the times: as digital regulation tightens, the days of simply clicking “I’m over 18” are fast disappearing.
How this new regime will affect game sales, user behavior, and the broader digital landscape is still an open question. But one thing’s for sure—age verification on Steam is here to stay, at least as long as the law requires it. And if the UK’s approach spreads, gamers around the world might soon find themselves reaching for their wallets before they can reach for that next big title.