Steam is now checking the age of its users in the UK. In Germany, such an age verification is also likely to come. Sooner or later, you will encounter such an age verification on Steam, whether you like it or not.
What exactly is Steam doing right now? Valve is conducting age verifications on Steam for some users. If you are located in the UK and want to try a game rated “Mature” (18+), you will need to provide Valve with proof of age.
However, Steam is taking a different approach than other providers in the UK. The previous age verification could be bypassed relatively easily with screenshots or a VPN.
What method is Steam using? To verify the age of users in the UK, Steam is relying on credit checks: In the UK, you must be at least 18 years old to own a credit card, and that is apparently enough for Steam to prove that you are old enough to buy the desired games or view content in the community.
As the English-speaking magazine PCGamesN reports, you can also purchase your games with other payment methods, but you must provide a credit card in order to access the store page at all.
Steam is bound by UK law and similar steps are likely to follow in Germany
Why is Steam even introducing such a regulation in the UK? The stricter age verification in the UK is based on new legal requirements that mandate providers to ensure that only adult users have access to certain content.
This primarily serves to protect minors from age-inappropriate games and content. Steam is the latest in a series of websites implementing similar measures to comply with the UK Online Safety Act (via Gov.uk).
What can German players expect now? It is also likely that similar measures will come for German users, as the European Union (EU) and the German legislature are increasingly pushing for stricter digital age controls with the Youth Media Protection State Treaty (JMStV).
In the EU, there is currently a debate about the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA). In this context, they want to introduce age verification to prevent minors from accessing certain content on the internet. The EU is currently testing a new age app in Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. However, such a system is not expected to be implemented across Europe until 2026 (via Europa.eu).
So you will also encounter such an age verification on Steam sooner or later. Whether Steam will implement a credit card requirement in Germany, rely on the new EU age app, or use identity documents is still unknown.
For German players, this also means that they will not be able to access certain content if they do not confirm their age.
Gabe Newell is known as a billionaire and co-founder of Valve, the company behind Steam. Now, the English article from Luxurylaunches reports that Newell has joined the Dutch shipyard Oceanco. Newell plans a new special project there: a high-end explorer ship with a budget of around 300 million US dollars: Gabe Newell invests 300 million in research, wants to make the results freely available to the world
