Valve has announced that it will be banning any Steam games that use blockchain, NFTs, or cryptocurrencies in the future. The move comes as part of a larger effort to clean up the platform and make it more user-friendly. According to Valve, these technologies are difficult for users to understand and manage, and they can also lead to scams and fraud. They say that they want Steam to be a place where people can buy and sell games without having to worry about shady dealings. This announcement comes as a surprise to many people, given that blockchain technology is becoming more popular all the time. However, Valve seems determined to clean up Steam before it becomes too complicated or confusing for users. ..
PC gaming may be an open ecosystem, but Valve sets the rules on Steam. Now, it appears that Valve is banning games with blockchain, NFT, and cryptocurrency technology from its digital storefront.
As of October 15, 2021, Valve lists “Applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs” as items you “shouldn’t publish on Steam” on an official support page for game developers.
We checked on Archive.org for that same support page as of October 6, 2021, and the rule regarding blockchain, NFT, and cryptocurrency isn’t there. It’s a recent change to Valve’s developer documentation.
This policy change came to light when SpacePirate Games, the developer of Age of Rust (a game that offers NFTs), tweeted that Valve would be kicking existing blockchain games off the Steam platform:
— Age of Rust (@SpacePirate_io) October 14, 2021
While it sounds like the developer has communicated with Valve regarding NFT-based games on Steam, it looks like Valve has made its decision. “While I’m disappointed for Age of Rust being removed, the point is more to the fact that Blockchain games as [a] whole are going to be removed. This is [a] setback for all,” the company said in a follow-up tweet.
We’ve reached out to Valve for comment regarding this policy change, but we hadn’t heard back as of publication time. We will update this piece if Valve responds.
