With over 50,000 games on its platform, it’s hard for games to stand out on Steam. That’s why when a game wins an award it’s pretty common to see their Steam page updated with images and iconography that makes sure viewers see just how prestigious this particular game is.
However, Valve has noted a recent trend where some developers are adding award stickers to their images that are "confusing and sometimes even inaccurate." Others are throwing on discount text for sales that have already expired. The problem has gotten bad enough that Valve has decided to enact new rules that standardize what’s appropriate for images on Steam.
"Recently, we've noticed more text, award logos, and even review scores being included by game developers in their graphical asset images. This made us realize our guidelines haven't been as clear as they should be," wrote Valve in yesterday’s blog update. "As a result of not having clearly-defined rules, we've seen additions to graphical assets that are creating a confusing and sometimes even inaccurate experience for customers."
Steam’s new rules now require all images to be clear and concise, limited to just the game’s title, artwork, and relevant subtext. Or as Valve explained, this means:
- No review scores of any kind, including Steam reviews or external news sources
- No award names, symbols, or logos
- No discount marketing copy (eg. no "On Sale Now" or "Up to 90% off" text)
- No text or imagery promoting a different product. This includes no marketing of sequels or other titles in the same franchise.
- No other miscellaneous text
Valve noted that Steam already has a section dedicated to showing off a game’s awards, and there’s also a section in the game description where review scores and quotes can be copied and pasted.
There is just one exception to the new rules for updating your Steam header image. "Tastefully promoting your recent update or new content is okay on store capsules, as long as you use a Temporary Artwork Override to do so and localize the text into languages supported by your game."
The new rules go into effect on September 1, 2022, which means Hades has just over a month to get rid of those laurels.
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