Steam has decided to ban any and all games that feature cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital assets used partially for ascertaining the authenticity and ownership behind easily reproducible items such as photos, video, and audio. The decision was revealed in a tweet from the developers behind Age of Rust, who spotted an updated list of guidelines that revealed Steam wanted nothing to do with games that allow for the exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs. That’s a problem for Age of Rust, an upcoming game that allows players to collect in-game NFTs by solving puzzles.
Community: A few minutes ago, we were notified that @Steam will be kicking *all blockchain games* off the platform, including Age of Rust, because NFTs have value. Behind the scenes, we've had good communication and have been upfront with Steam. #blockchaingames #NFT
— Age of Rust (@SpacePirate_io) October 14, 2021
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Steam’s list of what shouldn’t be published, as noted on the platform’s Onboarding page:
- Hate speech, i.e. speech that promotes hatred, violence or discrimination against groups of people based on ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation
- Sexually explicit images of real people
- Adult content that isn’t appropriately labeled and age-gated
- Libelous or defamatory statements
- Content you don’t own or have adequate rights to
- Content that violates the laws of any jurisdiction in which it will be available
- Content that is patently offensive or intended to shock or disgust viewers
- Content that exploits children in any way
- Applications that modify customer’s computers in unexpected or harmful ways, such as malware or viruses
- Applications that fraudulently attempts to gather sensitive information, such as Steam credentials or financial data (e.g. credit card information)
- Video content not directly related to a product that has shipped on Steam.
- Non-interactive 360 VR Videos
- Applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
Valve hasn’t elaborated on why it’s avoiding cryptocurrencies and/or NFTs yet, but Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has already taken advantage of the situation to bolster the appeal of the Epic Games Store by announcing that he will allow these types of blockchain features in games.
“Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group,” Sweeney tweeted. “Though Epic’s not using crypto in our games, we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance.”
Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group. Though Epic's not using crypto in our games, we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance. https://t.co/6W7hb8zJBw
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 15, 2021
Source: Age of Rust