Valve Prohibits the Mention of "non-Steam versions" of Games

[R-T-B]

withholding information is something dictators do....

and... wait for it... companies.

you are allowed to say anything

Steam never ever claimed this.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Where I could see this having any merit is if the dev is actually advertising a non Steam form of the game on Steam....such as blatantly posting a link in the main description section that says "DRM FREE GOG VERSION - CLICK HERE!"

This part here was one of the things I was talking about, and seems to be a legitimate communication of non-steam game. When I searched, Beneath a Steel Sky was not available on Steam. It was available on GOG, however, and free. It seems legitimate that the dev could increase their sales on Steam of Beyond a Steel Sky by informing people where they could play the prequel. Yet shortsighted Steam would ban this kind of discussion. Smh.

EDIT: I just searched again, and it appears Steam is now offering Beneath a Steel Sky (for free also) since July 27th (apparently a response to the above happenings I spoke of).

 

[ZeppMan217]

Where I could see this having any merit is if the dev is actually advertising a non Steam form of the game on Steam....such as blatantly posting a link in the main description section that says "DRM FREE GOG VERSION - CLICK HERE!"

That's exactly what the rule is meant to counter. Here's an example: Mortal Shell, an Epic exclusive, set up their Steam page recently advertising the game being "AVAILABLE NOW ONLY ON EPIC GAMES STORE". It releases on Steam in 2021. The page was subsequently scrubbed. Metro Exodus did the same, as did Anno.
It's mind boggling how some people here don't seem to understand why this kind of advertising would be considered problematic by the store owner.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Quite simple really, can I advertise my own theoretical tech forum here please?.

Possibly a patreon account too.

 

[huguberhart]

That's exactly what the rule is meant to counter. Here's an example: Mortal Shell, an Epic exclusive, set up their Steam page recently advertising the game being "AVAILABLE NOW ONLY ON EPIC GAMES STORE". It releases on Steam in 2021. The page was subsequently scrubbed. Metro Exodus did the same, as did Anno.
It's mind boggling how some people here don't seem to understand why this kind of advertising would be considered problematic by the store owner.

I wonder if they will be able to use phrases like "made with financial contribution of x" or "development financed with x company". There are projects crowdfunded, but there is no purchase option after campaign.. and I think they use info of project page..?

 

[neatfeatguy]

Think about it this way:

You go to a local sports venue. They have a contract with Coke.
You see Coke advertisements throughout the venue. You can only buy Coke products at the concession stands.
Things at the sports venue are sponsored by Coke.

You won't see that venue doing any kind of advertisement with Pepsi or selling Pepsi products.

While I don't enjoy what Steam has turned into, I can understand Valve's stance on wanting to prohibit the advertising of game availability/cost on competing platforms.

 

[MpG]

Satisfactory comes to mind. Advertised and promoted to the nines on Steam - then oops, EGS exclusive! Then, after the initial exclusivity period had ended, the page showed up back on Steam (and reappearing on everyone's wish lists), coming soon... coming soon... any day now, honest... feeling impatient? Well, there's this Other Site that has it for sale right now...

All the games with off-site 18+ patches would technically get hit by this too, although this is developer only, so it's a pretty safe bet that one of the top-rated reviews will have the link anyway.

Probably no perfect answer, but this isn't something I can really hold against Steam too hard.

 

[kn00tcn]

it's about what developers/publishers post themselves, how about not writing such a misleading title & article... this poor journalism is why i stopped being active on TPU over the past couple years

 

[Ruru]

Back in the day non-Steam meant a cracked game to me. Now this is truly a crappy policy to be honest though I still keep Steam as the best store for games.

 

[SkullFox]

Hopefully Valve will see that they need another big hit Half-Life to pull people back to their platform...

Epic pulls people because of Fortnite and they got their temporary exclusives because of it.

Its time for Valve to wake up and start battling the competition.

Its time for Valve to wake up, wake up and smell the ashes....