Valve Bans In-Game Ads on Steam—No “Watch This to Keep Playing” Nonsense Allowed
Image Credit: Valve, Portal 2
Valve has officially put its foot down on in-game ads as a business model on Steam. That means no "watch this ad to keep playing" interruptions, no sneaky ad pop-ups, and no video rewards disguised as gameplay features. Steam is staying ad-free, and Valve made it clear in an update to its developer documentation.
What’s Still Allowed?
Not all ads are banned—just the kind that get in the way of actually playing a game. Here’s what is still fair game:
Product Placement – As long as it makes sense. If a racing game wants to slap some real-life sponsor logos on its cars, that’s fine.
Cross-Promotions – Developers can still collaborate, but charging for bundle participation or selling access to store pages is strictly off-limits.
External Ad Campaigns – Paid ads that direct players to a Steam store page are still allowed.
So, if you’re dreaming of a Pepsiman reboot, don’t worry—it’s still possible.
What’s Banned?
Valve’s new rule completely bans any form of in-game advertising that:
Blocks gameplay – No mandatory ad breaks before continuing.
Forces ad engagement – You shouldn’t have to watch an ad to play.
Ties ads to rewards – No “watch this to earn extra currency” gimmicks.
Basically, if a game on Steam starts feeling like a mobile game drowning in ads, Valve isn’t having it.
Why the Ban?
So far, Steam hasn’t had a major issue with these kinds of in-game ads, but given their dominance in mobile gaming, Valve seems to be getting ahead of the problem before it becomes one. While Valve is usually pretty hands-off with moderation, it has drawn hard lines before—banning NFT and crypto-based games, and requiring games using AI-generated content to disclose it.
Clearly, Valve has a vision for what PC gaming should look like, and turning it into an ad-ridden mobile experience isn’t part of the plan.
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