Steam has officially banned games that force players to watch ads, or grant in-game rewards for watching ads, in a historic move for the platform.

Valve makes clear companies can still advertise in games. Those awkward billboards and real-world brand cosmetics are still fine to include, although Steam does stipulate that these must not be “disruptive” and are “appropriate within the context of the game.”

Cheery mom-and-pop computer game business Valve have updated their rules about advertising both outside and inside

In a new update to Steam’s ad policy, Valve incorporates a rule regarding the use of forced ads in games listed on the digital storefront.

Steam games can no longer force you to watch ads to continue playing, as Valve sets out new rules for developers using commercials.

Cheery mom-and-pop computer game business Valve have created a new Steamworks page for their policy about in-game

Valve has seemingly introduced new rules that ban games that require users to watch paid ads (or rely on other such ad-based revenue models) from Steam. However, some sources report that these rules may have already existed, and that Valve has merely created a dedicated page on Steamworks to clarify this policy.

Valve made waves when it updated its Steamworks Documentation now to include a dedicated "Advertising on Steam" page, illuminating its anti-advertising-on-Steam stance— GamingOnLinux proceeded to report on this as a new policy.

Valve has reiterated its stance against exploitative in-game advertising, threatening to ban any game that uses these mechanics.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox