Update as of October 2, 2025: SteamDB highlighted on Bluesky that although Valve has introduced a new page regarding its advertising policy on Steam, the underlying policy itself is not recent. For at least the past five years, Valve has prohibited this type of in-game advertising within Steam games, as stated on their pricing policy page.
Initial report: As first shared by Gaming on Linux, Valve has included a new advertising section in its Steamworks developer guidelines. This section details the types of advertising and promotional activities permitted on Steam while clearly prohibiting in-game advertisements as a method for generating revenue on the popular PC gaming platform.
In terms of product placement, it remains permissible provided that “these representations are not intrusive and fit appropriately within the game’s context.” For instance, Valve cites a racing game featuring real-world sponsors on vehicles as an acceptable example, which suggests that a revitalised version of Pepsiman might still find its place on the platform—much to my relief. Cross-promotions are also allowed; however, Valve specifies that “developers must not be charged to join a bundle or for access to a store page or any other page on Steam.” Furthermore, paid advertising campaigns conducted outside of Steam that direct users to a store page are also permitted.
Any type of in-game advertisement that restricts gameplay or disrupts player experience is strictly prohibited. Valve states on the page that “developers should refrain from using paid advertising as a primary business model in their game, such as making players view or interact with ads to continue playing.” Essentially, this creates a comprehensive ban on any design that requires players to “watch this ad to play the game,” and it also includes restrictions on in-game advertisements linked to rewards like power-ups or in-game currency.
In the realm of gaming on Steam, this reviewer has never come across or heard of a single title exhibiting behaviour. However, considering the commonality of this issue on various other platforms, especially within the mobile gaming sector, it is understandable that Valve would take proactive steps to address it. Renowned for its hands-off approach to moderation on Steam, Valve typically relies on an “I’ll know it when I see it” philosophy when it comes to banning inappropriate content. Nevertheless, the company has made it clear that games associated with NFTs and cryptocurrencies are outright prohibited, and it mandates that any game utilising generative AI must disclose this usage. This indicates that Valve possesses a distinct vision of the future of PC gaming as it pertains to its influential platform.
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