Valve is introducing new restrictions on the written content of Steam store pages to ensure developers only share relevant information.

The company says some developers use store pages to “display information or links” that distract from actually learning about the games and make it “difficult” for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

“We want players to be able to learn more about your game! And to create a more positive experience on Steam (for developers and players), we’re introducing new rules starting in September.” reads a blog post.

“We will be enforcing new rules about what can and cannot be included in your written store page descriptions. We know that changes to sections with written game descriptions can be disruptive and may take some time to update.”

The new rules apply to the “About the Game,” “Short Description,” “Special Announcement,” and “Awards” sections of store pages. They prevent developers from using these sections to link to other websites (including social media pages); from embedding images that mimic the Steam store interface or buttons; and from including images, links, or widgets that reference other Steam releases.

To address any potential concerns, Valve points out that developers can already use special link fields to promote their social media channels or website and promote other related products by creating bundles, franchises or developer homepages on Steam.

Act now – or Valve will act for you

Developers have until September to optimize their store pages before Valve automatically changes relevant content. Valve further explains its decision-making process, saying the new restrictions are also intended to prevent rampant cross-promotion.

“We saw an increasing number of store pages that were essentially advertisements for other store pages on Steam. This meant that on some game pages in the Steam store, you would find listings of 2, 3, or even 8 other games before you even got around to reading the description of the game you were looking at,” Valve continued.

“We don’t think this is good for customers trying to learn about a game on Steam, so we wanted to update the rules to prohibit games from using the written description section to link to other games on Steam.”

The company also believes the new rules will help refine the use of “prologue” apps and make them less confusing for consumers. “We’ve seen developers on Steam do novel things to build an audience using a separate app, which most refer to as a ‘prologue.’ In these examples, developers purchase a secondary app ID and release it as a standalone free game to promote the upcoming release of their full premium game,” the company adds.

“That was fine with us, but we saw some ways it caused confusion for players and unnecessarily required developers to charge a second app fee. With a few changes to the way demos work, we can replicate the positive benefits of a separate ‘prologue’ while creating a closer connection between the two entities so customers know exactly how to learn more about the full game and add the right thing to their wishlist.

“The changes already made to demos should make it unnecessary for developers to purchase a separate app ID for prologues. Instead, they can use the demo app ID that is already associated with their game.”

Valve has introduced a number of Steam optimizations this year. In April, the company Steam refund policy has been updated to cover the playing time with extended access. It the image requirements changed for shop pages and has started a new Steam table to track the performance of Steam Deck titles.