https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/78E3-7431-1E88-AD59#retailers

Can I purchase Steam Gift Cards at retailers?

Yes, but only for a limited time.

We introduced Steam Gift Cards to retail stores back in 2012, and added the digital program in 2017. Unfortunately, scammers use gift cards from major brands like Steam to take advantage of all people all over the world.

We’ve responded to gift card scams over the years by taking a number of actions to protect customers, including:

• Working with retailers
• Working with law enforcement
• Making changes to the cards, including adding a prominent scam warning
• Limiting redemption to be in the currency of your Steam wallet
• Limiting availability of cards
• Removing cards from sale when we observed abnormal activity

As we have continued to put more and more restrictions in place, scammers have adapted. They continue to have an impact on Steam customers and other unsuspecting individuals. So we've made the difficult decision to end the Steam Gift Card program at retail stores.

As Steam Gift Cards run out of stock at retail locations, we will not be restocking them. We expect all retailers to be out of stock by the end of 2026. Though we will no longer be selling physical gift cards, you will still have the ability to use your existing gift cards on Steam whenever you choose, subject to local laws.

We also continue to offer Steam Digital Gift Cards, and are working to make this an even better experience. Guest checkout, which we added last year, is another way for family members and friends to gift Steam users with a digital card anytime.

You can learn more about gift card scams here.

we never even had them in the first place in the third world so well, i won't miss them i guess

That's a shame, these were a fun, cheap and useful gift. Gotten them myself a few times from relatives who wanted to give me something useful instead of cheap crap or just money. Giving someone an IOU for Steam credits is a bit lame. And if you purchase them in advance, they get an e-mail and already know what the gift is.

But they are right, all kinds of gift cards are used by scammers. DO NOT REDEEM!

To me this was the only way I purchased games on Steam and even Steam hardware like the controllers (old and new) and the Steam Deck itself. This is a huge big hit to me personally.

Why tho? You can just purchase from Steam directly?

OP likely doesn’t want to have/share credit card information. A gift card can be purchased with cash IRL.

I'm guessing they don't want to pay the costs of the fraud.

Still it's a shame for children and the under-banked parts of the working class who are struggling. Anyone without a credit/debit card now in the US at least has to pay a 3 - 14% tax ($5-$7 per card activation fee) for a $50 to $200 gift credit/debit card to load up steam instead which is a pretty significant hit.

Bad for anonymity too. Anyone who wanted to maintain an anonymous Steam account is going to be out of luck as I suspect even those gift credit cards are likely going to require identity verification or face scans within a couple years before you can use them.

Well rip, this was how I would buy games on steam with cash bc my mom wouldn't let me use her credit card.

debit cards exist too..

OP likely doesn’t want to have/share debit card information.

Damn, I love things physical. Makes it nice for gifts and everything. Hate that scammers ruined this

I'm talking about the physical gift cards

A physical card means you can hand your loved one something they can hold. Even if its just a redemption code