Surprise! Steam bans games that deal with cryptocurrency, NFT

In what comes as a surprising development, Steam has banned all games on its platform that allow cryptocurrency and NFT trading. The development comes unannounced and game developers are asked not to publish any game on the platform that allow the exchange of cryptocurrency or NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens). The rule is said to have been in effect since October 6.

Steam owner Valve is yet to specify the reason behind this move. The new rule was first spotted by Engadget on the onboarding page for Steamworks users and partners, stating that they should not “publish applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.”

Steam bans all games dealing with cryptocurrency

As of now, it is unknown as to how many games will be affected by this decision. The process is underway and you might still find a few of such games online. It remains to be seen what happens with games like Crypto Mining Simulator, which has nothing to do with actual cryptocurrency but only lets you pretend to mine cryptocurrency.

SpacePirate Games, who is the developer for Age of Rust, went on Twitter to express their take on this decision. “Steam's point of view is that items have value and they don't allow items that can have real-world value on their platform. While I respect their choice, I fundamentally believe that NFTs and blockchain games are the future. It's why I started this journey with all of you,” said the developer.

Age of Rust will now be published elsewhere and SpacePirate Games says that it will fight Steam on this decision. It will continue to create more NFTs and continue developing the game.

For those in the dark, Steam is a platform to purchase games on PC and is owned by Valve. A few months ago, Steam unveiled its handheld console, called Steam Deck, to allow players experience PC-grade games on the move. The Steam console is a direct rival to the Nintendo Switch console.