https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/age-verification-for-steam-rolls-out-in-australia-requiring-a-credit-card/

Without CC on file with them you are unable to buy adult games

Like doom or Witcher.

My account is 22 years soon. and yet i am blocked from purchases as I do not have CC nor have option to get one.

Will GOG follow Valve in implementing that check?


Australia is such a nanny state.

Why would Doom be blocked? But hopefully Gog will have to follow suit, in the UK games that are, and should be, blocked are blocked on Steam but not Gog.

Should be easily circumventable by going through a VPN and temporarily "relocate" to somewhere else other than Down Under, no?

it is considered an adult game. doom 2016 and others. not the old ones or doom 3

If your account is 22 years old, I'm assuming you are at least as old yourself. So then how is it that you have neither a CC nor, more strangely, an option to get one? When with an absolutely destroyed credit one is still able to obtain a CC normally. Or are you forbidden from having one by a court order or something?

Dont think so, as the bank's account country will be the limiting factor, as a bank would lose out on international fees.

So your you VPN may say one thing, but if you are paying international fees (as the store will definitely not pay for you), it will be "easy" to infer where you are - and the bank sometimes also does not allow the transaction as it can suspect fraud.

That may have been true a few decades back, but now banks are more alert when you "change" country (hence tales of people's card being block when abroad for example) not because of security ofc, but because is a good opp for the bank to charge fees!

This will be interesting to see how it plays out, as here generating/having virtual CC is a thing - its what i use here, each purchase a different card - so its not really something that bother or useless for the purpose of age checking (having CC to my knowledge is common when one here is very in deep in debt, as beyond that there is no purpose/advantage over debit card = the latter being what most use).

Interesting times, need to get popcorn.

You call THAT being a Nanny State?! Steam was doing that and pushing that to AVOID age attestation stuff like uploading your id. CC's don't have your face on it unlike all the other intrusive measures they are trying otherwise on other services.
I may have issues with Steam but I think this is good and PROTECTS your privacy this way.

high debt after house purchase. so any meaningful cc which would worth the hassle is out of our means.

Getting CC here is more restrictive than usa. they are not given freewilly and there are many checks you have to pass, income, spending habits, debt. credit score is irrelevant if you never defaulted or didnt pay your contracted subscriptions.

we probably could get something super basic if i cared, 500/1000 bucks limit. but what for? really was not needed. debit cards work the same. i am having issue with australia not with steam doing bare minimum to comply with the nanny state. and this state has many stupid rules, rulese for our own good...

Wait Debit Cards aren't included?! But wouldn't they count for someone of age or am I missing something?

Sounds like CC's are more strict there.

you can get your own at age 14

even earlier with your parents permission.

and no. they are not included. steam has mine one with my name. same name i had for past well almost 50 years :D

UK next, then rest of EU.

It's not a question of if, but when.

Also, anybody on Windows 11 should start buying lube I guess:
https://reclaimthenet.org/microsofts-brings-verification-system-to-windows

I would disagree with that though, as Australia, UK, US and similiar for historical and cultural reasons.

EU is a mix of multiple systems that are interconnected and thus has more weight than UK or Australia alone.

Also, as mentioned, see above, for Portugal this would be pointless (and the same for many other EU countries) - we are not so card dependent. The banking system will not budge or risk making changes in the house of cards that is the legacy banking system so that people can buy adult content whatever it is....(it would be funny if it did).

Hence popcorn, will be curious to see if Steam does this in EU market (remember the rules have to be same for ALL countries, Steam or GOG cant cherry pick - also why the GB/AU/US ID rules werent and wont be applied in EU)

Damn, that's tough, man! Sorry to hear that.

And...ofc it is...has to be about that...what else

Repeating the greatest hits like its an absolute truth/fact like argument that explains everything.
Wont stick around for the next item on the playlist = thats my cue to leave the discussion...

And gamers wonder why gaming iniciatives dont reach outside the bubble and people dont care...wonder why....what a mystery! /s

Most discussions on GOG end up almost the same why = no will or desire to discuss something, just to repeat the same old hits - which surely is the best way to argue something...or not.

Have fun!