Valve Tightens Steam Game Publication Rules to Address Payment System Compliance Issues

Valve has revised the guidelines for game publishing on Steam. The updated regulations now prohibit content that may violate the requirements set forth by payment processors, banks, and internet service providers. This includes certain types of adult content.

Previously, the «What Not to Publish on Steam» section included 14 items; it has now increased to 15. The new addition explicitly bans content that fails to comply with the rules of payment systems and banking networks. The document specifies that publishers must adhere to these regulations.

While the new guidelines do not provide examples of prohibited content, SteamDB reports that a number of games were removed shortly after the update. Most of these titles were erotic simulators associated with «taboo topics.» The removal of certain projects has raised questions, such as the disappearance of the detective game Trials of Innocence, which was inspired by the well-known Ace Attorney series. This removal may have been accidental.

Similar issues have previously affected platforms in Japan, where some services lost credit card support due to complaints from payment processors, leading to the closure of certain services, such as Manga Library Z.

The new rules on Steam may be an attempt to prevent similar issues from arising. However, payment companies do not disclose their exact standards, so publishers should be particularly careful regarding the content of their games.