Valve, the company that operates Steam, has stated that it will not tolerate ads like those found in mobile games.
In February 2025, Valve updated its developer guidelines for releasing games on Steam, clarifying that it will now prohibit advertising, just like mobile games.
Advertising on Steam (Steamworks Documentation)
Valve ban advertising-based business models on Steam, no forced ads like in mobile games | GamingOnLinux
Valve stated, 'Steam does not run paid advertising, and does not support any advertising model in games distributed on Steam,' and posted a page titled ' Advertising on Steam ' that clarifies what constitutes advertising.
Steam allows the following:
◆Product placement
Your game may feature real-world brands, products or people as part of gameplay, provided such depictions are not confusing and are appropriate within the context of the game.
◆ Cross promotion
Bundles and sales events around your products and brands on and off Steam are encouraged, but charging other developers a fee to participate in a bundle or selling access to a sales page or other page on Steam is not permitted.
◆ Paid advertising outside of Steam
You are permitted to run paid advertising campaigns outside of Steam, such as using the Store Widget and UTM analytics to drive traffic and measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.
On the other hand, the following are considered advertisements and are not permitted:
◆Watch ads to play
Developers are prohibited from using paid advertising as a business model for their games by forcing players to watch or engage with ads in order to play the game. Valve states that 'if your game's business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you must remove those elements in order to release the game on Steam.'
◆Advertising that gives value to players
It prohibits developers from using advertising as a means to provide value to players, such as by rewarding players for watching or engaging with in-game ads.
◆Charging other developers
Developers are prohibited from charging other developers for access to any Steam features.
The series of ads banned by Valve are a common business model in mobile games, and foreign media GamingOnLinux said, 'This update to the developer guidelines makes it clear that ad-based business models for mobile games will not work on Steam.'
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