Valve Rules Out Paid Advertising as a Business Model for Games on Steam

According to media reports, Valve has updated its developer guidelines regarding advertising in games distributed on Steam, clarifying what is and isn’t allowed on the platform. In particular, paid ads as a core business model for a game are not permitted. However, this change could also impact publishing services.

The use of paid advertising in PC games is far less common than in free-to-play mobile gaming. Nevertheless, Valve has now published new developer guidelines for Steam, specifically addressing how advertising can be used in games sold on the platform. These new rules were first discovered and reported by GamingOnLinux before being picked up by US media.

On the relevant Steam documentation page, Valve outlines which types of in-game advertising are supported and which are not. Classic product placement and cross-promotions remain permitted. For example, real-world brands in skateboarding games or sponsor logos on racing cars are unaffected, as are bundles, special offers, and other promotions that provide added value to consumers.

However, the situation is different for games that rely on paid advertising as a fundamental part of their business model. On this topic, Valve states:

Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as requiring players to watch or otherwise engage with advertising in order to play, or gating gameplay behind advertising. If your game's business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to remove those elements before shipping on Steam. Some options you could consider include switching to a single purchase "paid app," or making your game free to play with optional upgrades sold via Microtransactions or Downloadable Content (DLC).

Although not explicitly mentioned, Valve is likely referring primarily to mobile game ports, particularly hyper-casual games, which are often financed entirely through advertising. Another notable restriction is that Valve does not support the "incentive advertising"—again a common practice in mobile gaming. A third rule introduced by Valve leaves room for interpretation:

Developers should not charge other developers for access to Steam features. These include sale pages, bundles, store pages, franchise pages, etc.

This rule is presumably intended to prevent developers with large community reach from selling visibility in the form of ads on sales pages, franchise pages, or store pages. However, since Valve has not provided further clarification, the rule could also potentially apply to certain publishing /distribution services.