Transgender people face intense prejudice and discrimination in society. In civil society, trans people are able to change our names to match our true identity. But despite the presence of numerous transgender gamers, STEAM's account policy forbids account name changes.

Transgender gamers, like others, can change the public name that is displayed in multiplayer, on the STEAM marketplace, and so on. However, Valve's standing policy is that you must always have an "account name" that matches what you signed up with. If this name is abstract or doesn't refer to your gender, this isn't a problem - but if it was your actual legal name at the time you register, or references your username in some way, then if you transition, you will see that old name staring you in the face for as long as you use STEAM.

STEAM is the premier service for purchasing and playing PC games, and is rightfully beloved by the gamer community. Many transgender gamers have invested hundreds or even thousands of dollars into nontransferable licenses for games through STEAM, and we're quite happy for STEAM to have our money - they provide a service which is consistently user-friendly, affordable, and well-supported. However, as transgender people we are constantly subjected to pressures, political and personal, which deny the legitimacy of our identities. There is no reason why Steam cannot allow account name changes for users with special circumstances - just like the legal system of most countries permits. Transgender users of STEAM are, above all, gamers, and we want to play the games we've purchased through STEAM while having our identities respected.