Users of Valve’s Steam marketplace have been advised that no content connected to cryptocurrencies or nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will be permitted on the platform.
Steam has modified its criteria for what material artists are authorized to distribute on the platform, as revealed by game developer SpacePirate on October 14.
No blockchain-based applications that “issue or facilitate the trade of cryptocurrencies or NFTs” are allowed in Steam’s partner onboarding process, according to the company. Hate speech, sexually explicit photos, and libellous or defamatory statements are all prohibited under the regulation.
Though the new policy appears to prohibit all traditional games from containing crypto or NFT content, it is also said to have prevented blockchain game creators from publishing to the site. SpacePirate announced the removal of their Age of Rust game, with others expected to follow.
“From Steam’s perspective, goods have worth, and they don’t accept items with real-world value on their platform,” the developer explained. “While I appreciate their decision, I feel that NFTs and blockchain games are the way of the future.”
Valve may suffer financial consequences as blockchain-based games become more popular. According to a recent estimate from DappRadar, there were 754,000 unique active wallets associated with gaming decentralized applications in Q3 2021.
Many blockchain games allow players to earn real-world token incentives and trade in-game NFTs, perhaps paving the way for more crypto adoption.
Valve Corporation, on the other hand, has already targeted cryptocurrency and blockchain on its Steam marketplace. In 2018, the firm took down a game that purportedly mined cryptocurrency on customers’ computers.
Valve declared in 2016 that it will accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments, but later discontinued doing so due to high costs and volatility.
