Steam removed two sentences from its Subscriber Agreement on April 18, 2026 that previously disclosed fund expiration rules for Japanese users. The removed language stated that any Steam Wallet funds unused for six months would expire as required by Japanese law, and that users could review expiration dates in their Steam Wallet. The agreement also updated its revision date from April 20, 2026 to September 18, 2025, which represents a temporal inconsistency in the document metadata.
The updated agreement no longer explicitly discloses that Steam Wallet funds held by Japanese users will expire six months after being added, or that expiration dates can be reviewed in the Steam Wallet. The removal of this disclosure eliminates the transparency mechanism previously available to Japanese subscribers regarding fund expiration timelines and monitoring options. Japanese law may still impose expiration requirements on stored funds regardless of contractual disclosure, but the agreement no longer notifies users of this expiration mechanism.
The updated agreement eliminates explicit contractual notice that Steam Wallet funds will expire after six months for Japanese users, removing a transparency mechanism that previously informed users of a time-dependent financial obligation. Japanese law typically requires clear disclosure of stored value expiration terms, so the removal of this contractual language may create compliance risk unless Steam has implemented alternative disclosure mechanisms outside the agreement text.
→ Review your Steam Wallet balance and expiration dates through your Steam account settings to determine if any funds are approaching the six-month expiration deadline
→ Use or withdraw any Steam Wallet funds that may expire to avoid loss of value
→ If the six-month expiration rule remains in effect under Japanese law, Steam Wallet funds held for six months or longer may expire and become unavailable without explicit contractual notice of this deadline
→ Users will no longer have contractual confirmation that they can view expiration dates in their Steam Wallet, creating uncertainty about how to monitor remaining fund validity
Removed explicit notice that Steam Wallet funds expire after six months for Japanese users and that expiration dates are viewable in the Steam Wallet
Updated from April 20, 2026 to September 18, 2025, creating temporal inconsistency
This change record describes what was added, removed, or modified in the document. Analysis reflects what the updated agreement states or permits. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Applicability may vary by jurisdiction. Methodology
Japanese users are no longer notified in the agreement that their Steam funds will expire after six months or how to check expiration dates.
Steam removed explicit disclosure language regarding the six-month Steam Wallet fund expiration requirement for Japanese users. This removal eliminates contractual notice of a legally mandated practice (under Japanese law) without replacing it with alternative disclosure language. The removal creates potential compliance risk under Japanese consumer protection law and regulations governing gift cards and stored value, which typically require clear advance notice of expiration terms. Organizations offering services in Japan with similar fund expiration provisions are generally expected to provide transparent disclosure of expiration timelines and verification mechanisms.
Japan's Gift Card Act (Law No. 119 of 2012) and related consumer protection statutes requiring clear disclosure of stored value expiration terms; potentially relevant frameworks in other jurisdictions where Steam operates.
Full compliance analysis
Obligation analysis, escalation trigger, board language, and recommended action.
Watcher: regulatory citations + obligations. Professional: full compliance memo.
ConductAtlas provides verified policy intelligence sourced directly from platform documents. All analysis is intended to support, not replace, legal and compliance review. Record CA-C-001917.
See the full side-by-side comparison of every sentence added, removed, and modified.
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