Valve has recently clarified its policy regarding in-game advertising on Steam, explicitly prohibiting developers from including mandatory ads that players are forced to watch or interact with. A new page in the Steamworks Documentation details this long-standing rule.
The documentation clearly states that for games released on Steam “Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game.” This means that gating gameplay content behind unavoidable advertisements, or those requiring player interaction, is strictly forbidden. Furthermore, the documentation emphasizes that if a game relies on advertising on other platforms, these elements must be removed before the game is released on Steam.
While this may seem like a new policy, seasoned Steam users on Reddit have pointed out that Valve has maintained this stance for several years. The creation of a dedicated Steamworks Documentation page appears to be simply a move towards greater transparency and clarity for developers.
Previously, information regarding the ban on mandatory in-game ads was tucked away in the “Pricing” section of the documentation and within a FAQ entry addressing whether Steam pricing supported games with paid ads. This new, dedicated page provides a more comprehensive explanation of the policy, clearly outlining which types of advertisements are acceptable and which are not.
Notably, Valve’s policy does allow for some forms of in-game advertising. Product placement, such as in-game billboards, is permissible and aligns with the stated guidelines.