Don't want to see articles from a certain category? When logged in, go to your User Settings and adjust your feed in the Content Preferences section where you can block tags!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

This is a bit of a win for consumers I think, as some developers were making a right mess of their Steam store pages as Valve have now announced some big changes.

You've probably seen it a good few times: you go to a Steam page, scroll down to get some info on the game, and you're presented with a list of random games from the publisher first that have nothing to do with the game you're wanting to look at. Some publishers really went overboard with this too, essentially publishing a bunch of games to turn them into adverts for other games and it got quite annoying.

In the announcement Valve said new rules will apply to the "About The Game" section, "Short Description" section, "Special Announcement" sections and the "Awards" section that include these changes:

  • No links to other websites - This means that you cannot use your store page to link to any other website, including social media pages. There are specific link fields provided within your store page editor for linking to common social media platforms or your own website.
  • No embedded imagery that mimics Steam store UI or buttons - You should not have images or animations that are meant to look like Steam UI such as images that look like wishlist buttons or game capsules or prices.
  • No images, links, or widgets pointing to other games on Steam - This means that you cannot use your store page description to advertise other products on Steam. If you have related products, you can set up bundles, franchises, or developer homepages.

As part of this and the big standalone demo page update, this should also stop all the "free" Prologues that have become much more regular (that are basically demos under a different name) with developers sticking banners on their pages for all their prologues, as now the games and demos can be properly linked together.

On top of that, Valve has adjusted the Steam homepage, to stop all the demos appearing in the New & Trending tab pushing down actual new releases. Instead, there's now a dedicated tab for Trending Free that bundles them all there. A nice change for developers and consumers.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Misc, Steam, Valve
36 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
See more from me
5 comments

hm11 Aug 14
This makes sense... good.
Klaas Aug 14
We'll see how long it takes until a new trend to circumvent the rules emerges…

The new free/demo tab is great.

Edit: Just stumbled upon another game that uses fake Steam UI. It was advertised in the carousel on the top of the main page.


Last edited by Klaas on 14 August 2024 at 1:26 pm UTC
To be honest I do not care how the publishers clutter "their" product page. It is their loss if they annoy me when i try to buy their product. What I do care about, though, is that there still is no official option to remove the "news" section from "MY" library page... :(
Quoting: SchattenspiegelTo be honest I do not care how the publishers clutter "their" product page. It is their loss if they annoy me when i try to buy their product. What I do care about, though, is that there still is no official option to remove the "news" section from "MY" library page... :(
There's a news section? I think my brain has, over many years, gotten almost too good at not noticing all the ads and various other crap that clutters all the pages I look at on the internet.
Eike Aug 14
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: SchattenspiegelTo be honest I do not care how the publishers clutter "their" product page. It is their loss if they annoy me when i try to buy their product. What I do care about, though, is that there still is no official option to remove the "news" section from "MY" library page... :(
There's a news section? I think my brain has, over many years, gotten almost too good at not noticing all the ads and various other crap that clutters all the pages I look at on the internet.

At the top of the library page in the Steam client.

(You asked...!)
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
Login / Register


Or login with...
Sign in with Steam Sign in with Google
Social logins require cookies to stay logged in.