I know it, you know it, we all know it. Ads in games suck. They ruin your experience and just make you feel yucky about the game. But a lot of game companies and developers don’t care about the player experience and try to push ads. In my opinion when it comes to gaming the player experience should be the top priority. That’s the whole point of a game. Anything that takes away from that is a bad thing.
Valve Bans Ads In Games that Force Players To Watch
I heard some news that Valve has updated their developer guidelines for releasing a game on Steam. They have made it clear that in game advertising is not allowed. Yet another reason I love Valve. They are one of the few big gaming companies that seems to care about their players and customers.
God bless Valve and God bless Gabe Newell!
Valve’s Advertising Guidelines
Just take a look at some of the things Valve says in their advertising documentation.
“Steam does not contain any paid advertising, nor are advertising models supported in games distributed on Steam.”
I love it. Right to the point and check out this one.
“Product Placement: Games may contain real brands, products, personalities, etc as part of gameplay, provided such portrayals are not disruptive and are appropriate within the context of the game. For example, a racing game might feature real life sponsor logos on its race cars, or a skateboard game might include characters wearing real-world brands. Note that all developers must obtain the relevant permission and/or licenses for any copyrighted content contained in their games.”
Check out the part I made bold. That’s exactly how it should be everywhere!
“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. If your game’s business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to remove those elements before shipping on Steam.”
“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.”
The last two quotes is why I despise games on phones. I’m so thankful for Valve and Steam for these rules.
Ads In Phone Games
When it comes to ads in games the phone games are atrocious. I remember when my son was 5 or 6 and he wanted to play a game on my phone. So we downloaded it and it had full screen ads and banners all over the place. The game was obviously targeting young children who had no money to buy anything so why? On top of that the ads that did pop up were not always appropriate.
That was probably the last time I downloaded a game on my phone. They are annoying and I’m glad that’s not coming to PC. At least not on the Steam store.
In Summary: Are in game ads ever OK?
I develop games on the side for fun. One day I’d like to publish something on Steam. So when I think about this I feel kind of yucky so it’s not something I’d ever do. But I do know developers need to make money. So is there a place for ads in a free game?
I might would be ok with a banner ad on a title page or maybe even a score page after a match or level. But beyond that I would say no. That gets into the realm of disrupting the gaming experience and I don’t think that’s ok.
The whole point of gaming is entertainment, fun and immersion for the player. If you mess that up with ads then maybe don’t make games?
