Valve has introduced revisions to Steam’s publishing policies, now barring developers from releasing material that conflicts with regulations imposed by financial institutions and payment providers.

As reported by Automaton, an updated section in the Steamworks Documentation outlines restrictions against content deemed noncompliant with policies enforced by banking networks and online service providers. This includes specific adult-oriented material, a category with significant representation on the platform. Recent observations by SteamDB indicate multiple titles explicitly breaching these standards have been delisted, though official confirmation linking these removals to the policy change remains pending.

Given financial intermediaries’ stringent regulations surrounding mature themes, platform adjustments affecting such content were an inevitable outcome. While the clause aims to address clear infractions, concerns linger about potential overreach impacting broader creative freedoms for Steam publishers beyond verifiable violations.

Aside from this addition, other sections of Steam’s content guidelines remain unaltered. The full policy framework can be reviewed here.