Valve Aims to Block Intrusive Mobile Ad Practices from Spreading to PC

An update to Valve’s Steamworks Documentation prevents developers from using ad-based monetization, the same monetization strategy that plagues the mobile gaming market.

The change was first spotted by GamingOnLinux where the piece highlighted the existence of a new page called Advertising on Steam. This page is concerned with how players use advertising in their games. In it, two specific points target the invasive mobile ad business strategy.

The first one mentions that there shouldn’t be paid advertising as the game’s main way to make money. This happens when players are forced to watch videos or ads to continue playing the game. According to Valve, developers should remove this before uploading their game to Steam. There’s also the option to make the game a paid app, instead of having the ads.

The other point talks about advertisements offering players rewards after watching them. For example, watching a 10-second ad will give players in-game resources that can be used to upgrade their units. This entices the player to watch ads to progress quicker in the game, which in turn generates income for the developer.

These types of business models are running rampant on mobile games. Seemingly any mobile game not developed by a big studio implements ads that disrupt gameplay and give players rewards after watching them. Mobile games that have a stamina system often implement this practice and give players who watched the ad more stamina to keep playing.