Valve CEO Gabe Newell explained why cryptocurrencies and games using blockchain technologies and non-fungible tokens were blocked on Steam. He discussed this in an interview for the Rock Paper Shotgun portal.
Newell stated that the distributed ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrency is not in itself a bad thing. In his opinion, the concept of digital product ownership and public universes makes sense, but the main problem with cryptocurrencies and NFTs is the people who use the technology at the heart of these things.
According to the head of Valve, people are prone to various criminal activities. He said that almost half of the transactions using NFT and cryptocurrency on Steam were related to money laundering from dubious sources or fraud – this was one of the reasons for blocking such projects on the platform. Newell noted that people who trade NFTs are also among those who do not want to do business with. In his opinion, the desire of some sellers to deceive buyers for the sake of profit is one of the reasons for the negative perception of NFTs.
Newell also speculated regarding another reason for the ban on blockchain games on Steam – the volatility of the cost of goods. As the head of Valve noted, paying with cryptocurrency created unreasonable price fluctuations, which were extremely negatively perceived by users. After that, the company decided to move away from NFTs and cryptocurrencies on Steam in order to create a more comfortable environment for people.
Ban on the release on Steam of games that use the blockchain and allow you to receive and exchange NFT and cryptocurrency appeared in October 2021. After updating the rules of the digital store, titles with similar technologies began to be blocked at the moderation stage.
