Valve is imposing new restrictions on the written content of Steam store pages to ensure developers are only sharing relevant information.
The company says some developers use store pages to “present information or links” that distract from learning about the actual games, making it “difficult” for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
“We want players to know your game! So, to make the Steam experience more positive (for developers and players), we will be introducing new rules starting in September,” read a blog post.
“We will be enforcing new rules about what can and cannot be included in the written descriptions on your store page. We know that changes to the written description sections of your game can be disruptive and may take time to update.”
The new rules will apply to the “About This Game,” “Short Description,” “Special Announcement,” and “Rewards” sections of store pages. They will prevent developers from using these sections to link to other websites (including social media pages); embedding images that mimic the Steam store UI or buttons; and including images, links, or widgets that point to other Steam releases.
To address any potential concerns, Valve notes that developers can already use specific link fields to promote their own social channels or websites, and promote other related products by creating bundles, franchises, or developer homepages on Steam.
Act now, or Valve will act for you
Developers will have until September to edit their store pages before Valve automatically edits out the relevant content. Further outlining its decision-making process, Valve says the new restrictions are also designed to block rampant cross-promotion.
“We’ve seen more and more store pages that are actually advertisements for other store pages on Steam. This meant that on some game pages on the Steam store, you’d find listings for 2, 3, or even 8 other games before you’d even read the description of the game you were looking at,” Valve continues.
“We don’t think this is a good idea for customers looking to learn more about a game on Steam, so we wanted to update the rules to prevent games from using the written description area to link to other games on Steam.”
It also believes the new rules will help refine the use of “prologue” apps, making them less confusing for consumers. “We’ve seen developers do new things on Steam to help build an audience through a separate app that most call a “prologue.” In these examples, developers are purchasing a secondary app ID and releasing it as a standalone free game to promote the upcoming release of their full premium game,” the company adds.
“It's been great for us, but we've seen some ways it creates confusion for players and unnecessarily requires developers to pay a second fee for the app. With some changes to how demos work, we can replicate the positive benefits of a separate “prologue,” while also creating a closer connection between the two entities so customers have a clear idea of how to learn more about the full game and add the right thing to their wishlist.
“The changes already made to demos should make it unnecessary for developers to purchase a separate app ID to use for prologues, and instead be able to use the demo app ID already associated with their game.”
Valve has launched a series of changes to Steam this year. In April, the company Updated Steam's refund policy to cover the “advanced access” game time. Also changed the image requirements for shop pages and has launched a new Steam ranking to monitor the performance of Steam Deck titles.