Can You Put Ads in a Steam Game? Valve's Rules

Can you put ads in a Steam game?

Mostly no. Valve’s Steamworks page Advertising on Steam says advertising models are not supported in games distributed on Steam: you cannot make players watch ads to play, gate gameplay behind ads, or reward players for watching or engaging with ads. What is allowed is product placement that fits the game, cross-promotions, and paid ads outside Steam that send people to your store page. To earn money, Valve points you to a paid game, or free to play with optional upgrades sold as microtransactions or DLC.

Below are the current Valve rules, a table of methods, and the questions Valve does not answer in writing. Policy text checked on October 20, 2026. Valve can change the Steamworks documentation at any time, so read the live pages before you submit a build.

What Valve’s advertising rules say

The Advertising on Steam page opens with the core rule: “Steam does not contain any paid advertising, nor are advertising models supported in games distributed on Steam.” It then splits examples into two lists.

Not supported

• “Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as requiring players to watch or otherwise engage with advertising in order to play, or gating gameplay behind advertising.”
• “Developers should not use advertising as a way to provide value to players, such as giving players a reward for watching or engaging with advertising in their game.”
• Developers should not charge other developers for access to Steam features such as sale pages, bundles, store pages, or franchise pages.

The page is direct about ported games: “If your game’s business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to remove those elements before shipping on Steam.”

Supported

• Product placement. Games may contain real brands, products, or personalities as part of gameplay, if they are not disruptive and fit the context. Valve’s examples are sponsor logos on race cars in a racing game and characters wearing real brands in a skateboard game. You still need the rights or licenses for any brand you show.
• Cross promotions. Bundles, sale events, and promotions with other Steam products or outside brands are encouraged, but charging other developers to take part is not allowed.
• Paid advertising outside Steam. You may buy ads elsewhere to drive traffic to your Steam page. Valve recommends its Store Widgets and UTM Analytics to measure them.

The same principle sits in the “Rules and Guidelines” section of Valve’s Steamworks onboarding page, where “Applications with advertising-based business models” appears in the list of what you should not publish on Steam.

Steam monetization methods: allowed or not

“Not stated” means we found no written rule, not that the method is allowed.

Payments: Steam Wallet only

Valve is just as firm about how players pay. Its Microtransactions (In-Game Purchases) page says: “For any in-game purchases, you’ll need to use the microtransaction API so Steam customers can only make purchases from the Steam Wallet.” The Free To Play Games page adds that whether your game is free or paid, you can sell content as DLC or as in-game purchases, and “both purchase paths must use Steam Wallet.”

The build review checks this. Valve’s Review Process page lists “Your product must use Steam Wallet for any in-game transactions” and explains that “your product cannot link to other store pages that does not offer Steam Wallet.” So a “Buy gems on our website” button inside the Steam build will not pass.

You build purchases on the ISteamMicroTxn web API from your backend, or use the Steam Inventory Service instead. Microtransaction prices are set on your server per transaction; DLC price changes go through Steam review.

What the agreements add

• Steam Subscriber Agreement. This is the players’ contract with Valve. The current version, last updated September 10, 2026, says Steam Wallet funds “have no value outside Steam” and “have no cash value and are not exchangeable for cash.” It also requires curators and broadcasters who promote a product in return for anything, including free games, to disclose it.
• Steam Distribution Agreement. You sign it electronically during onboarding, and the rules page says content must comply with it. Valve does not publish it as a public page we could check, so we do not quote it here. Read your signed copy for the exact terms.

Reviews, wishlists, and keys

Valve’s User Reviews page lists three rules for developers:

• “Don’t attempt to abuse or artificially manipulate the review system.”
• “Don’t solicit reviews in exchange for any games, DLC, money, or other rewards.” The exception is sending copies to press or internet personalities for previews or reviews.
• “Don’t ask customers to review your product from within your application.”

Unlike mobile, there is no official in-game prompt: the Steam client itself asks players for a review after they have played for a while. Our guide Can you pay for app reviews? covers the store and FTC side of paid reviews.

Wishlists are a gap. Valve’s Wishlists page explains how wishlists work and how to grow them, but we found no written rule on rewarding players for wishlisting. Valve does not say it is allowed, either. If you plan a wishlist reward, such as a cosmetic for everyone once a goal is hit, ask Valve through a Steamworks support ticket before you announce it.

The Steam Keys page adds that keys should not be given away free unless Steam customers get the same deal, except for very small giveaways of under 100 keys. Keys as prizes in a reward program count toward that.

Need players before launch? Find playtesters for your game covers Steam Playtest and other routes that stay within these rules.

Games built mainly for ads or data

Valve’s onboarding rules do not use the words “games made to collect data”. What they do list as not allowed:

• Applications with advertising-based business models.
• Applications that “fraudulently attempts to gather sensitive information, such as Steam credentials or financial data”.
• Applications that modify a customer’s computer in unexpected or harmful ways, such as malware.
• Blockchain applications that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.

Content must also comply with the Steam Subscriber Agreement, the Online Conduct rules, and the Steam Privacy Policy. Valve has no separate written rule on data collection beyond these. A game that exists to show ads is already out under the first point.

How to monetize a PC game on Steam instead

Sell the game

A one-time price is the option Valve names first, and it fits most single-player and indie games.

DLC and supporter packs

Valve’s Downloadable Content (DLC) page lists expansions, new maps or levels, and extra characters as examples, plus supplemental content that does not appear in-game, such as artbooks or wallpapers. That is where a supporter pack fits: a small DLC with an artbook, wallpapers, and perhaps a cosmetic. Soundtracks use a separate type of App ID. Valve also warns that paid DLC on day one can make players feel content was cut from the game.

Free to play with Steam microtransactions

The DLC page suggests that cosmetics, consumables, and currencies are often better served by microtransactions. Valve’s microtransactions page gives two pieces of design advice worth taking seriously: avoid systems where one player’s spending makes the game worse for others, and aim for items where “I celebrate when the player next to me makes a purchase.” It also recommends fraud controls, such as blocking trading of new purchases for at least 72 hours. Hybrid monetization for games covers store design, but on Steam the ads half of that mix is off the table.

Product placement and sponsors

Real brands that fit, like logos on cars or shop signs, are fine if they do not interrupt play. Valve does not say whether you may be paid for them, and its opening line says Steam “does not contain any paid advertising”. Rotating ad inventory served into in-game billboards is not named either, but it looks like ads as a business model. Before you sign a paid sponsor deal, describe it to Valve in a support ticket.

Paid ads that bring players to Steam

Ads outside Steam are allowed. Tag links with UTM parameters so Steam’s UTM Analytics shows which campaigns brought visits. For more models, How to monetize an app compares the main models across platforms.

Can a Steam game use an offerwall?

Not inside the Steam build. An offerwall pays players in your game currency for completing advertisers’ offers, such as trying an app or answering a survey. That is exactly what Valve rules out when it says you should not give “players a reward for watching or engaging with advertising in their game.” What are rewarded ads? explains why offerwalls, rewarded video, and survey walls all count as rewarded advertising.

So if you want an offerwall, put it where the platform allows it:

• Your mobile version. If the game also ships on Android or iOS, an optional earn screen in the mobile build is the usual place. Each store has its own rules; see Monetize a mobile game with an offerwall, Google Play’s incentivized installs policy, and offerwall rules for iOS apps.
• Your own website or web version. A browser build or community site you run yourself is not a Steam product.

One caution. Valve’s pages do not address an off-Steam earn page whose currency shows up in the Steam build through a shared account. It is not banned in writing, but in practice it gives Steam players value from advertising. Keep earned currency in the non-Steam versions, never promote the wall in the Steam build, and ask Valve before you connect the economies.

Checklist before you submit a Steam build

1. Remove every ad SDK and any code path that shows or rewards ads.
2. Route every purchase through the Steam Wallet, via ISteamMicroTxn, the Steam Inventory Service, or DLC.
3. Remove links from the game to stores that do not offer Steam Wallet.
4. Check that any real brands fit the game, do not interrupt play, and are licensed.
5. Remove in-game review prompts and any reward tied to reviews.
6. Ask Valve in writing about anything this guide marks as “not stated”.
7. Plan your launch marketing off Steam; How to promote a mobile game on a small budget has low-cost ideas, many of which carry over to PC.

Frequently asked questions