A new form of age verification is cropping up on the internet, this time on the Steam gaming platform where Australian users are being asked to add a credit card to their accounts before they are allowed to view the pages of R18+ games.
The restriction was being reported by several people this week with users posting screenshots of the message they received from Steam.
The message reads, in part: “please add a valid Australian credit card to your account and afterwards update the Mature Content Preferences.”
The restriction is not only preventing users from buying the game, but even from viewing its page, and the only way to bypass it is to add a credit card to their Steam account.
It’s a case of some adults not having a credit card, or preferring not to use it. And it’s also a case of some adults not being able to get a credit card because of lender’s eligibility criteria.
But none of that means they are children, yet they are now unable to access the pages of R18+ games on Steam, and the only way to prove their age is by linking a credit card to their account.
PC Gamer reporter Shaun Prescott tested the new rule by trying to view the store page for Doom 2016, but was unable to do so. He then tried to add a debit card, but that was not accepted. According to him, a credit card is now required.
This is a different type of digital ID, but it is still a form of digital ID, and it is still a form of age verification, and it’s one that not all adults will be able to comply with. Some will be excluded from accessing content that is their right to access, simply because they don’t have a credit card, or don’t want to use it.
And this is happening because of government regulation: the Office of the eSafety Commissioner published guidance for the App Distribution Services Code that was developed as part of the Online Safety Act.
The code requires that by September 9, 2026, app distribution services put in place appropriate age assurance and access controls before adults-only apps can be purchased or downloaded, subject to qualified exceptions requiring alternative action.
But the code does not say that the only way to comply is by accepting credit cards. That’s a choice that Steam has made, and one that is not the only way to implement the government’s rules.
