## Valve Seemingly Bans All Steam Games That Require Watching Advertisements To Play

Authored by gamespot.com

Valve has seemingly introduced new rules that ban games that require users to watch paid ads (or rely on other such ad-based revenue models) from Steam.

However, some sources report that these rules may have already existed, and that Valve has merely created a dedicated page on Steamworks to clarify this policy.

The page explains that Steam does not contain paid advertising, and that advertising-based revenue models are not allowed on the platform.

It further states that developers are also prohibited from using advertising as a way to provide value to players, such as giving players an in-game reward for watching or engaging with ads.

"If your game's business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to remove those elements before shipping on Steam.".

This apparent change in Valve policy was first reported by GamingOnLinux.

Regardless, Valve did recently introduce a significant change to its storefront: warnings that note if a game in Early Access hasn't been updated in more than a year. »

### Diablo creator says fast levelling up in modern ARPGs ‘cheapens the entire experience’

Authored by videogameschronicle.com

The creator of Diablo says he feels that modern action RPGs level up the player too quickly.

In an interview with Videogamer, David Brevik – who was senior designer and lead programmer on Diablo, and project and design lead on Diablo 2 – criticised modern takes on the genre for rewarding players too quickly.

Last month it was claimed that a Switch 2 port of Diablo 4 is in the works. »

### Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 breaks into Steam's top 50 most-played with a peak concurrent player count more than twice what the original had

Authored by gamesradar.com

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has more than two and a half times the peak concurrent player count the original game ever achieved, an impressive feat for any direct sequel.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance had a peak concurrent player count of 96,069 when it was released in February 2018 - a very respectable number.

As noted by one redditor , this means the game is in Steam's top 50 chart for all-time peak concurrents. »

### Take-Two Boss Unconcerned by Plummeting PS5 and Xbox Sales, Insists GTA 6 Will Cause 'A Meaningful Uptick in Console Sales' in 2025

Authored by ign.com

It’s an omission in keeping with developer Rockstar’s playbook for its previous games, but in 2025 feels outdated.

IGN put that question to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick ahead of the company’s recent financial results, and in his response he teased GTA 6’s eventual release on PC.

“So with Civ 7 it's available on console and PC and Switch right away,” Zelnick said of Firaxis' recently launched Civilization 7. »

### Justice Department orders charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams dismissed

Authored by nbcnews.com

Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a senior Justice Department official said Monday evening.

The order is for all charges against Adams to be dismissed, and the dismissal is without prejudice, the official said, meaning charges could be refiled in the future.

“It cannot be ignored that Mayor Adams criticized the prior Administration’s immigration policies before the charges were filed," Bove wrote. »

## In pictures

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