According to a recent revelation, Valve Corporation, the parent company of Steam, plans to ban cryptocurrency and NFT games from its platform. This development was brought to light by SpacePirate Games, the developers behind the Age of Rust game. In the Twitter thread, they revealed that Valve will soon phase out all such games from its platform.
Community: A few minutes ago, we were notified that @Steam will be kicking *all blockchain games* off the platform, including Age of Rust, because NFTs have value. Behind the scenes, we've had good communication and have been upfront with Steam. #blockchaingames #NFT
1/4 pic.twitter.com/W4pR3Xl63q— Age of Rust (@AgeofRust) October 14, 2021
What SpacePirate Had To Say
SpacePirate stated that they had remained quite transparent when it came to the NFT feature in their games with Steam. Developers added that they were disappointed with the development. According to the Twitter handle, it was a major setback for everyone in the space since all blockchain and NFT games would soon be taken down. They concluded by stating that they would continue to work on empowering their community and developing NFTs instead of trying to fight Steam.
Future Of NFT And Crypto Games On Steam
According to steam’s latest guidelines, these items have value. As a result, they cannot continue to exist on Steam since items with real-world value are not accepted there. One reason why Valve Corporation could have taken this step is due to a 2018 ruling in Washington State, the home of Valve. In a ruling by a federal appeals court, a ruling was upheld that stated virtual chips in an online casino game Fish Casino were “a thing of value” in Washington State. Consequently, availing the game in Washington State constituted carrying out an illegal gambling operation.
The decision by Valve could have a major impact on the future of NFT games. Currently, many companies are still testing the incorporation of NFTs into their games. With third-party distribution services like Valve unwilling to support such features, it could make NFT and crypto games less attractive. However, due to the nature of the internet and blockchain technology, it would still be quite difficult to get rid of these games. The only issue is that it will make it hard for such features to enter the mainstream market.
Valve Has Not Responded
While they have made an update to their rules, there has not been any public comment from Valve. It would appear that there is no intention to make a public comment on this issue soon. There are several cryptocurrencies and NFT games on Steam besides Age of Rust. These games include Mir4, which lets players earn in-game crypto rewards. However, the game has remained unpopular with players due to how boring the gameplay is.
There is also no set timeline for when these games will be taken down. As of October 16, 2021, all games that feature NFTs and cryptocurrencies are still accessible on the platform. However, developers would be wise to start looking for alternatives and recalibrating their development plans.
An Opportunity For Others
While Valve may have decided to dump NFTs and crypto-based games, there is still an opportunity for others. Another platform could seize the opportunity to create a platform for crypto-based and NFT games.
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