Valve will not allow prizes or scores in the images of the games that are sold on Steam

Valve has announced new rules clarifying what may or may not be included in the graphic asset capsules in the Steam Store and Library. In short, as of September 1, it will not be allowed to include too much text, award logos or scores in the images. Valve makes this decision considering that the lack of clarity in Steam’s guidelines has caused an abuse of added elements in graphic resources, which has ended up “creating an unclear and sometimes even erroneous experience among customers”.

“Our goal is for customers to find games to buy and play on Steam as clearly and directly as possible,” explains Valve. “Lately we’ve been seeing developers include more text, award logos, and even review scores on images in graphic assets. […] For example, the logos of some games themselves have become so small that players have a hard time seeing the name of the game. In other cases, the images of the graphic resources are so cluttered with award and rating logos that they are distracting and difficult to read.”

Valve finds it normal for developers to want to inform players about the quality of their games, but remember that there are already sections on Steam listings where that information can be displayed. “The content of the basic graphic asset capsules on Steam is limited to the artwork and the name of the game, as well as any official subtitles,” the company says. In the capture that you have below, Valve indicates with several examples the text, logos or scores that will not be possible as of September 1.

Valve does not prohibit all text in graphic assets on Steam. In addition to the game’s name and subtitle, artwork can also be used to promote a recent update, the arrival of new content, or the debut of a new season. Of course, the company wants this graphic material to be temporary and its text must be localized in the same languages ​​in which the game is available. Those interested will find all the new standards with the corresponding documentation in this link.

This is not the first time that Valve has modified or clarified the rules on the use of graphic resources on Steam. Since 2016, the company has urged developers to use images of the game in action and avoid the use of concept art or pre-rendered cinematic frames.