Steam requires a credit card for R18+ games in Australia, alternatives exist

Valve introduced age verification for Australian Steam users: buying or even viewing R18+ game pages now requires a credit card, which only 23% of Australians use. Epic Games Store, GOG, Microsoft Store and key sellers Fanatical and Green Man Gaming offer alternatives such as face scans, ID documents or no verification at all.

• Valve requires a credit card for R18+ games on Steam in Australia
• Only 23% of Australian payments in 2025 used credit cards
• Epic, GOG and Microsoft Store accept face scans or ID documents
• Fanatical and Green Man Gaming sell Steam keys without age checks