- Valve has taken a new initiative and banned developers from using in-game ads as a source of revenue on Steam.
- Advertisements that do not hinder or gate gameplay are allowed, including promotions and paid ads.
- The company is making this move to ensure PC gaming does not become infested with forced ads like the mobile platform.
One thing holding back mobile gaming has been forced advertisements that are used to monetize otherwise decent gameplay experiences. These ads, while unfair to gamers, have proven to be a giant piggy bank for developers and publishers alike.
However, Valve has taken it upon itself to ban PC developers from adopting these same dreaded techniques to milk revenue from gamers. The company has officially banned forced in-game ads as a source of revenue on Steam.
Why it matters: The new Valve initiative could prevent the dreaded forced advertisements from infiltrating PC gaming, as analysts have predicted in the past. Game developers will not be able to grow revenue by gating gameplay.
Valve has published a new page about advertising policies to highlight exactly what it will allow developers to do regarding ads on Steam. Any sort of advertisement that hinders or gates any elements of the game is strictly not allowed.
Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as […] gating gameplay behind advertising.
In other words, developers cannot have players watch a 10-second ad of an upcoming game to let them continue playing the game—sort of the thing plaguing mobile gaming right now.
Valve advises developers to use microtransactions or DLC content to earn revenue instead of shady tactics like in-game ads.
Will this action taken by Valve prevent PC gaming from becoming full of forced ads, or is it just a temporary blockade? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devotedly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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