Valve bans all Steam games that force players to watch advertisements – Eurogamer

Breaking ad.Valve has emphasised its rules around advertising, explicitly prohibiting games that force players to watch in-game ads.The newly-remphasised rules from Valve – first reported by Gaming on Linux – confirm that whilst cross-promotion and product placement are permitted, games that force players to watch or engage with advertising in order to play are not. [Update: A previous version of this article reflected the source’s report that these rules were all-new, when it fact Valve has now re-emphasised the rules by creating a new section of its terms.]Nor should developers 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 utilise 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,” the rules explain.”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).”Whilst I suspect most of us would associate this kind of behaviour with mobile games more than those available on Steam, Valve clearly thought it necessary to clarify, in clear English, “what is and is not supported on Steam”.Developers are also not allowed to charge other developers for access to Steam features, such as sale pages, bundles, store fronts, or franchise pages.Last week, Valve quietly implmented a useful new Steam feature warning users – and potential purchasers – how long it’s been since an early access game last received an update.
Eurogamer is better when you sign in

Join our community of gamers and get access to personalised reading recommendations and much more!
Eurogamer.net is owned by Gamer Network Limited, an IGN Entertainment company and subsidiary of Ziff Davis.
© 2025 Gamer Network Limited, 18 Mansell Street Level 3, London, E1 8AA, United Kingdom. Company number 03882481.
All rights reserved. No part of this website or its content may be reproduced without the copyright owner’s permission.

Source: https://www.eurogamer.net/valve-bans-all-steam-games-that-force-players-to-watch-advertisements