Steam changes game gifting system

Valve has made a major change to the Steam gifting system that will have an impact on many Steam users.

The game gifting system has been used Steam users for a number of reasons. Some gamers use it for acquiring games not on sale in their country, picking up games cheaper, or reselling. The changes are as follows.

Go ahead and buy a gift months in advance and have it delivered to a friend on time, every time.

In the old system, a declined gift would sneak back into the giver’s inventory and remain on their bill. Now, if a recipient already has the title, or just doesn’t want it, they can click decline and the purchase is refunded directly to the gift giver.

No more worrying if a Gift to E-mail or Gift to Inventory is going to work for a friend, gifts sent through the new system will always work on the receiver’s account. When there is a large difference in pricing between countries, gifting won’t be available and you’ll know before purchase.

Many Steam users are not pleased with the changes for all of the reasons listed above but it’s unlikely to have an impact on most users who simply use it as a store.