Valve Bans Forced Advertisements and Advertising-Based Business Models on Steam
[summaraize]
Valve has updated the Steamworks documentation to clarify the types of advertising and promotions allowed on Steam, explicitly banning advertising-based business models that are often seen in mobile games, especially the kind that force players to watch ads to continue playing.
While some forms of advertising are still allowed, such as product placement ads or cross-promotions between games, paid advertising within the game that interferes with the gameplay experience is now prohibited. Valve explained (via GamingOnLinux) that games can feature real-world brands, products, personalities, etc., as part of gameplay, as long as such representations are not annoying and fit within the context of the game.
What Steam Does Not Allow in Advertising-Based Games
Steam now prohibits using ads as a business model, meaning games cannot require players to watch ads or engage with them to continue playing. Valve insists that games using this model on other platforms must adapt to these rules.
“Some options you could consider include switching to a single purchase “paid app,” or making your game free to play with optional upgrades sold via Microtransactions or Downloadable Content (DLC).,” Steam suggests. Developers are also forbidden from using advertising as a way to provide extra value, such as offering rewards for watching ads.
Although this type of annoying advertising is rare on Steam, Valve is taking steps to stop it from becoming more common. In the past, Valve has also stopped NFT games and now asks developers to mention if their game uses artificial intelligence in the store description.
In other news, Steam has introduced a warning for Early Access games that haven’t been updated in over 12 months. The warning will show how long it has been since the last update, improving transparency for players.
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