An update to Steam's rules and guidelines has revealed the platform has banned games that are either built on blockchain technology or allow for the trading of NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Steam's onboarding page has made it clear that NFT trading games will be banned from the Valve platform.

The company recently made changes to its Rules and Guidelines page to reflect these new rules. In fact, under the section "what you shouldn't publish on Steam", the last thing listed is "Applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs."

While Steam is stepping further away from blockchain games, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies, Epic Games has decided to embrace this part of the market. Epic told The Verge it is "open to games that support cryptocurrency or blockchain-based assets" being available on the Epic Games Store.

When asked about the subject of NFTs, Epic did say that there will be some limitations, but it is willing to work with developers in the fast-growing field. Additionally, Epic Games said that it plans on clarifying rules for NFTs, blockchain games, and cryptocurrencies in the future.

The Profit's Take:

It's funny because Epic's article came out almost immediately after Valve's story was released. Here's the thing, you can't name a single blockchain game you are absolutely dying to download from Epic. These stories prove my point about Epic, which is that they are no longer making good business decisions. Every choice they make is a purely ego-driven move that I could see a five-year-old making. Epic is basically saying "LOVE US PLEASE! WE AREN'T STEAM" or "LOVE US PLEASE, WE ARE GOING AFTER THE BIG BAD GUY, APPLE!" Every move Epic Games makes reeks of desperation. They'll do and say anything to get gamers' love. There is nothing that says you need to make an announcement the second after Steam makes their announcement. Epic is totally wrong and out to lunch right now. They're desperate for attention and validation, which is unfortunate because they are actually a good technology company. They just don't know how to make business decisions. This will eventually lead to the Epic Games Store being FLOODED with garbage. I am certain we will once again end up talking about Epic releasing crappy or scam-riddled NFT games like six weeks from now. On the other hand, I love Valve and Steam's view on this. They didn't say we are going to get rid of these things forever. They just said we aren't going to allow these types of games right now. There's no harm in that. It keeps everything clean and simple while making sure the content they put out is still good. Maybe, if blockchain games are exploding in two years, they will reverse their decision. At the end of the day though, I just think this rebuttal from Epic is so sad. I actually feel pity for them. Valve took a smart, reasoned approach while Epic just made a near-jerk reaction to something their competitor did.

(All information was provided by NME, Steam, and The Verge)