Many are justifiably annoyed about Steam’s new age verification requirements in Australia. Whereas most platforms and shopfronts offer several ways to verify one’s age, Valve offers only one, and it’s amusingly ill-suited to the Australian market. To prove that you’re over 18 years old and thus, legally allowed to purchase games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Doom Eternal or Rimworld, you need to provide details for an active credit card.
The problem? Very few Australians use credit cards.
Even if you opened your Steam account as far back as 2003 and own a handful of R18+ games already, Steam will still require that credit card.
I don’t want to big up Microsoft for doing slightly more than the bare minimum, but an email I received overnight does at least cast renewed light on how terrible Valve’s approach is. An email from Microsoft regarding my “Microsoft Age Verification Status” had this to say:
“Due to your longstanding account activity, we’ve estimated your profile to be an adult account and updated its age verification status to “Verified.” At this time, you are no longer required to complete further age verification for uninterrupted access to features across certain Microsoft products, including Microsoft and Xbox storefronts.”
(I’ve made no edits to that message, aside from removing the new all-caps in Xbox because it’s lame).
I don’t like having to verify my age to buy videogames, and honestly, I’d prefer to provide credit card details than scan my face or provide a government-issued proof of existence. Age verification systems raise extremely pertinent security and privacy concerns.
But Valve offering only one option is pretty much the epitome of a pisstake, especially since the one option it has presented is extremely ill-suited to the Australian market. It could possibly even pass as malicious compliance: Valve is technically adhering to the law, but doing so in a way that’s likely to lead to even more chaos.
The fact that my Steam account can be over 20 years old and I still have to prove my age, is also kinda insulting.
Whatever the case, if you want to buy an R18+ game on PC right now, I’ve compiled all the Steam alternatives that make it much easier.
