Valve further enforced its ban on promotional advertising in games on Steam, expanding on previously established rules on the platform.

Valve makes clear companies can still advertise in games. Those awkward billboards and real-world brand cosmetics are still fine to include, although Steam does stipulate that these must not be “disruptive” and are “appropriate within the context of the game.”

Steam has officially banned games that force players to watch ads, or grant in-game rewards for watching ads, in a historic move for the platform.

Valve has seemingly introduced new rules that ban games that require users to watch paid ads (or rely on other such ad-based revenue models) from Steam. However, some sources report that these rules may have already existed, and that Valve has merely created a dedicated page on Steamworks to clarify this policy.

Valve has implemented new rules around advertising, explicitly prohibiting games that force players to watch in-game

Steam games can no longer force you to watch ads to continue playing, as Valve sets out new rules for developers using commercials.

In a new update to Steam’s ad policy, Valve incorporates a rule regarding the use of forced ads in games listed on the digital storefront.

Valve just implemented a welcome warning message that proves the company continues to put its Steam customers first.

Valve has once again done something that will greatly please gamers. The company has banned the distribution of games on Steam that force users to watch ads.

While the little regulation on Steam still allows for a lot, the most common freemium models from mobile gaming still are not welcome on the platform. "Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game,