Steam Cracks Down on Forced In-Game Ads and Abandoned Early Access Titles

Valve has solidified its stance against intrusive in-game advertising, clarifying its existing policy with a dedicated page outlining the ban on games requiring players to watch ads for progression or reward acquisition. This policy, integrated into Steamworks' terms for years, is now prominently featured, likely in response to the platform's explosive growth. SteamDB reports a staggering 18,942 game launches in 2024 alone.

The policy prohibits games that force ad views for gameplay or reward unlocking, a common practice in many free-to-play mobile games. To comply with Steam's guidelines, games utilizing this model must remove ad elements or transition to a paid model with optional microtransactions or DLC. Good Pizza, Great Pizza serves as a successful example of this adaptation.

While disruptive ads are forbidden, Steam permits product placement and cross-promotions (with proper licensing), such as sponsor logos in racing games or real-world brands in skateboarding games.

This updated policy aims to enhance the user experience by eliminating intrusive ads and ensuring higher-quality games on the platform.

Abandoned Early Access Games Receive Warnings

In another significant move, Steam now flags Early Access games inactive for over a year. These titles will display a message on their store pages indicating the time since their last update and that developer information may be outdated. This complements existing user reviews and helps customers identify potentially abandoned projects.

The Steam community has largely welcomed this change, with many users suggesting that games neglected for extended periods (five years or more) should be removed from the platform.