Valve has released a new rule for Steam which bans all games which compel players to watch advertisements.
In particular, these new rules appear to be targeted at potential PC ports of mobile games which regularly rely on advertisements for monetization.
- Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as requiring players to watch or otherwise engage with advertising in order to play, or gating gameplay behind advertising. If your game’s business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to remove those elements before shipping on Steam. 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).
- Developers should not use advertising as a way to provide value to players, such as giving players a reward for watching or engaging with advertising in their game.
- Developers should not charge other developers for access to Steam features. These include sale pages, bundles, store pages, franchise pages, etc.
The rules leave room for common sense inclusion of brands and “appropriate” product placement such as racing sponsors and logos on skateboards.
It’s common for mobile games to utilize the sort of monetization that Valve is banning, many mobile games offer premium currency (which is allowed as a separate purchase) to viewers who willingly watch ads. These games will also often showcase ads between loading screens and at other moments without prompting.
Both activities are effectively banned for any app published on Steam.
Steam appears to be ramping up their consumer protections, recently the company was praised for now warning consumers when an Early Access title has been seemingly abandoned by its developer.
