Steam's overlords still think in-game ads are fine as long as they're "appropriate"

They suggest switching to a single-purchase model or free-to-play with microtransactions instead.

Here’s what it says about in-game ads being fine as long as they fit the context.

There’s an interesting tradition of product placement within games, ranging from signboards for pirate simOverboard!

in the otherwise galleon-deficient G-Police, toObama campaign ads in Burnout Paradise.

Publishers have, unsurprisingly, expressed qualified approval for the idea.

Among the more egregious examples of noxious in-game advertising is the originalAlan Wake, would you believe.

While mandatory ad-watching tends to be associated with mobile, console and PC publishers have tried it too.

2Konce added unskippable ads to NBA 2K21, for instance, rolling them back after an outcry.