The Steam platform officially bans in-game advertising as a business model. This means that there will be no forced interruption of "watch ads and continue to play" in the game, there will be no sneaky advertising pop-ups, and video rewards disguised as game functions. Steam will remain ad-free, and Valve has made it clear in its developer documentation update.

Allowed content

Not all ads are banned, only those that hinder the gaming experience will be banned. The following content is still allowed:

• Product implantation – as long as it is reasonable. For example, it is acceptable for racing games to put real-life sponsor logos on racing cars.
• Cross Promotion – Developers can still collaborate, but no charges for bundled participation or access to the store page for sale.
• External Advertising Campaigns – Paid ads pointing to the Steam Store page are still allowed.

So if you dream of a reboot of PepsiCo, rest assured – this is still possible.

Prohibited content

Valve's new rules completely prohibit any form of the following in-game advertising:

• Obstacle the game – Forced insertion of ads is prohibited to continue the game.
• Forced Advertising Engagement – ??Ads should not be viewed for forced use in order to play games.
• Peel ads to rewards – ban gimmicks like “watch ads to earn extra currency”.

Basically, if the game on Steam starts to feel like a mobile game full of ads, Valve won't tolerate it.

Reasons for prohibition

So far, Steam hasn't encountered major problems with such in-game ads, but given that they dominate in mobile games, Valve seems to be taking the lead before the issue arises. While Valve is usually looser in reviews, it has previously set strict boundaries - banning games based on NFT and cryptocurrencies and requiring disclosures of games using AI-generated content.

Obviously, Valve has its own plans for the future of PC games, and turning it into an ad-filled mobile gaming experience is not part of its plan.

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