Valve Corporation has announced the termination of its physical retail gift card program to mitigate systemic fraudulent activity.

Valve Corporation 宣布終止其實體零售禮品卡計劃，以緩解系統性的欺詐活動。

The decision to discontinue the production of physical Steam gift cards follows a protracted period of exploitation by third-party actors. Since the program's inception in 2012, fraudulent entities have utilized these instruments to facilitate the laundering of funds by inducing victims to disclose security credentials, which are subsequently liquidated on secondary gray markets. Despite the implementation of various countermeasures—including the integration of explicit cautionary labeling, the imposition of redemption constraints, and collaboration with law enforcement agencies—Valve asserts that the adaptability of these actors has rendered such interventions insufficient.

決定停止生產實體 Steam 禮品卡，是基於第三方行為者長期利用此漏洞。自 2012 年該計劃啟動以來，詐騙實體利用這些工具，誘使受害者洩露安全憑證，隨後在二級灰色市場將其變現，以利於洗錢。儘管採取了多項對策——包括整合明確的警示標籤、實施兌換限制以及與執法機構合作——Valve 仍表示，這些行為者的適應能力使得此類干預措施不足以解決問題。

From a fiscal perspective, the discontinuation represents a complex trade-off. The administration noted that physical cards constitute one of the most resource-intensive payment modalities due to the overhead associated with logistics and customer support. Nevertheless, the utility of these instruments remains significant for a specific consumer demographic; for instance, Valve reported $80 million in redemptions during the final eleven days of 2023. This revenue stream has been characterized by the company as a substantial benefit to software developers. Consequently, the cessation of new production will result in a gradual phase-out, with the company projecting that existing retail inventories will be exhausted by the conclusion of 2026. This transition completes a strategic trajectory initiated in 2002 to minimize the operational inefficiencies inherent in physical distribution networks.

從財務角度來看，此次停止生產代表了一次複雜的權衡。管理層指出，由於物流和客戶支援的開銷，實體卡是資源消耗最密集的支付方式之一。然而，這些工具對特定消費群體仍具有顯著效用；例如，Valve 報告在 2023 年最後 11 天內有 8,000 萬美元的兌換額。公司將此收入流定義為對軟體開發者的重大益處。因此，停止新生產將導致逐步淘汰，公司預計現有零售庫存將在 2026 年底前耗盡。此次轉型完成了一項始於 2002 年的策略軌跡，旨在最大限度地減少實體分銷網絡中固有的營運低效。

Physical gift cards will remain redeemable until inventories are depleted, while digital alternatives and specific prepaid debit options will continue to be available.

實體禮品卡在庫存耗盡前仍可兌換，而數位替代方案及特定預付扣款選項將持續提供。