Valve Boots Blockchain/Cryptocurrency/NFT Titles Off Steam(UPDATE: But Epic Games Will Take Them!)

Valve is booting NFTs and crypto-based games off of Steam. In an update to its rules and guidelines about acceptible content in its game store, Valve now lists "Applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs" in its "What you shouldn’t publish on Steam" category.

Upcoming blockchain-based game Age of Rust has received a notification from Valve that its games will be removed from the platform (and AoR already seems to be gone). According to the developer, "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."

That would seem to run contradictory to the notion of things like Steam cards, which can be bought and sold in the community market. Moreso, there's the question of rare items in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, some of which have unofficially sold for thousands of dollars. This might mean the the current crypto/NFT crackdown is the first step to deal with CS:GO "skins gambling" via Steam, but until we get some kind of official word from Valve on the change, we won't know for sure.

UPDATE: Steam may not want these titles, but according to Tim Sweeney, the Epic Games Store will gladly offer them a digital home provided they are following all laws:

Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group. Though Epic's not using crypto in our games, we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance. https://t.co/6W7hb8zJBw

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) October 15, 2021