Valve bans Steam games with forced ads

Valve has implemented a new rule on Steam, prohibiting games that require players to watch advertisements.

The focus of these rules seems to be on potential PC adaptations of mobile games that heavily rely on ads for revenue.

• Developers are not allowed to use paid advertising as a primary revenue source in their games, such as forcing players to watch ads to progress or locking content behind ads. Games relying on external advertising for revenue must remove these elements before being released on Steam. Alternatives include transitioning to a one-time purchase model or offering in-game purchases like Microtransactions or Downloadable Content (DLC).
• Games should not use ads as a way to incentivize players, such as offering rewards for viewing ads within the game.
• Developers cannot charge other developers for access to Steam features like sale pages, bundles, or store pages.

The rules do allow for reasonable inclusion of brands and appropriate product placements, such as sponsor logos in racing games or on skateboards.

Many mobile games use the monetization methods now banned by Valve, offering premium currency as a reward for watching ads and displaying ads during loading screens. Both practices are prohibited for any game on Steam.

It appears that Steam is enhancing consumer protection measures, as they recently started warning users about abandoned Early Access titles.