Steam enhances gifting and wishlists with new user-friendly updates.

In 2024, Valve introduced a feature on Steam that allowed users without a Steam account to buy digital gift cards or hardware. This meant that if friends or family wanted to gift you a game, they had to purchase a gift card for the right amount, which you could then use to buy the game on Steam.

However, the latest Steam update has revamped this process: non-Steam users can now directly purchase individual games as gifts. As the recipient, you can share a link to your wishlist with the buyer. Alternatively, if they want to keep it a surprise, they just need your Steam account’s email address to send the gift. Keep in mind that you can’t schedule gifted games for future delivery.

Another significant change is the cross-region gifting feature, which now automatically calculates the game’s price in your friend’s region before you send it. Previously, you had to rely on digital gift cards and know the game’s price in their region, which was often a hassle. While third-party tools like SteamDB helped with this, the new system simplifies the process. Just remember, the person you’re gifting must be on your Steam friends list.

The update also brings several wishlist enhancements, including the ability to categorize your wishlist to display only specific games. This means you can share a wishlist link that highlights only upcoming titles or select a few games for someone to choose from. Additionally, games on your wishlist that have a demo available will now feature a green tag, and you’ll receive notifications when a demo is released for any game on your list.

For more details on these changes, including how to create wishlist categories, check out the relevant blog posts.

While gift cards are still available in some stores for now, Valve plans to stop restocking them this year.