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

Valve has clarified its stance on in-game advertising, reinforcing its ban on games that force players to watch ads for gameplay or rewards. This policy, part of Steamworks' terms for years, now has its own dedicated page, likely in response to the platform's massive growth (over 18,942 game releases in 2024 alone, according to SteamDB).

No Forced Ads Allowed

The updated policy explicitly prohibits games requiring ad viewing for progression or offering rewards for watching ads – a common practice in free-to-play mobile games. Games on Steam must remove such ad elements or transition to a paid model (single purchase or free-to-play with optional microtransactions/DLC), as exemplified by Good Pizza, Great Pizza.

Product Placement and Cross-Promotions Permitted

The policy does allow for product placement and cross-promotions (like bundles and sales), provided proper licensing is in place. Examples include sponsor logos in racing games or real-world brands in skateboarding games. This distinction aims to maintain a high-quality user experience free from disruptive advertising.

Early Access Games Receive "Abandoned" Warnings

Steam has introduced a new feature to alert users about Early Access games lacking updates for over a year. These games now 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a message on their store pages indicating the time since their last update and that developer information may be outdated.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 users identify potentially abandoned projects.

The community's response has been largely positive, with many praising Valve's proactive approach to improving the Steam experience and curating higher-quality games. Some users suggest that games abandoned for extended periods (five years or more) should be removed from the platform entirely.