Valve Restricts Steam Trading to Deal With Cheaters

You might not think there's a connection between cheating and the ability to gift games to other people on Steam. But there actually is, and it's the reason why Valve has announced new restrictions on Steam trading.

The new change deals with online games where you can be banned, either by Valve's anti-cheating software or individual game developers. You can no longer purchase copies of these games and then save them to be gifted later. If you're purchasing a copy that isn't for the account you're purchasing it with, you'll need to immediately gift it to someone else. Additionally, if you gift a copy of a game to someone who then goes on to receive a permanent ban, you'll lose the ability to gift copies of that game to other people.

This might sound strange if you're unfamiliar with the way cheaters operate on Steam. These bans prevent Steam users from playing online on any secured servers, so those planning to cheat are incentivized to play on more than one account. They'll obtain numerous copies of a game on one account and then distribute them to new accounts as needed--something that will no longer be possible.

"We've taken these steps to ensure the integrity of the multiplayer experience for those participating in online gaming communities," Valve explained in a support article. "We understand that the restrictions on buying to inventory may be inconvenient for some legitimate users, but we believe that these steps will reduce the number of cheaters you'll play against. And that's important in having an online gaming experience that's fair and enjoyable for everyone."

Valve has imposed a variety of restrictions on what Steam users can do over the years, and for a variety of reasons. Many social features are limited until users have spent money in order to combat spam and phishing; games can't be gifted across countries; and, during this year's Summer sale, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive couldn't be gifted to other users.