Valve has made a dedicated page for rules on advertising, prohibiting games from forcing players to watch in-game ads. Read on to find out more about this rule, and what it means for players.
Valve Rolls Out Rules for Games with Forced Advertising
Games are Forced to Remove Ad Elements
Valve has rolled out a dedicated policy page highlighting that they ban certain games that require users to watch or engage with in-game advertisements in order to be played, or have advertisements that give out rewards after watching. This is a practice commonly found in mobile games, especially free-to-play ones that are often advertised all over social media. In these titles, unskippable ads are placed in between levels, or ads are offered as a way to get extra rewards such as energy refills.
The policy itself has been embedded into Steamworks’ terms and conditions for nearly five years but has only recently been given its own dedicated page for easy access. This may be due to the influx of games vying for a place on the platform. According to SteamDB, the number of releases on the platform has steadily grown year after year, with 2024 alone having a whopping 18,942 games launched.
With that said, Valve may have felt the need to be stricter with its guidelines. Steam does not contain paid advertisements, and thus the platform does not condone advertisement-based business models for games on the site. Should a game that relies on such a model want to enter the Steam platform, these ad elements would need to be removed beforehand, or the game be remade into a "single purchase paid app."
Another option would be to adopt a free-to-play model with optional microtransactions or purchasable downloadable content (DLC). An example of a mobile game ported to Steam that abided with the second option is the business management simulator Good Pizza, Great Pizza. With in-game advertisements prohibited, several of its add-ons are now available as extra paid DLCs, or unlockable over the course of game progression.
Product Placements and Cross Promotions Allowed on Steam
However, while disruptive ads are forbidden, product placement and cross promotions like bundles and sale events are allowed, provided that the relevant licenses are present for any copyrighted content. Examples of such would be racing games like F1 Manager with real-life sponsor logos on racecars, or skateboarding games that showcase real-world brands.
A policy like this seems to aim towards providing more high-quality games available on PC and for an improved user experience that is not bogged down with advertisements. Steam users can be assured that games on the platform will not have forced advertisements that will otherwise take away from the immersion.
"Abandoned" Early Access Games Now Give Warning
Steam has also quietly added a new feature that now flags Early Access games that have not been updated for over a year or more. The Steam store pages of these certain Early Access titles will now have an additional message in their description, noting how long it has been since its last update and that "the information and timeline described here by the developers may no longer be up to date."
With the influx of Early Access games available on the Steam market, these alerts are intended to help customers easily filter out titles that may have essentially been left alone. While negative reviews of the game on its store page usually warn people if a game has been abandoned, having a notice right at the top is a great addition.
Players have taken to social media and the Steam community forums to react to the news, with many saying that it is a very welcome feature and thanking Valve. Others also agree, but have shared that some of these games—especially those who have not been updated in over 5 years or more—should be delisted at this point.
Source:
Steamworks Documentation
New Early Access warning on store pages Discussion Thread
