Official Group for Steamworks Development Support

Changes Coming to Store Page Written Descriptions

Our primary goal with store pages is for developers to be able to provide information about their game in ways that help players make educated purchasing decisions. Recently, we've noticed a trend that makes that experience a bit challenging, with some developers using the space to present information or links that (though often creative) distract from learning about the game itself.

We want players to be able to learn about your game! And so, to make for a more positive experience on Steam (for devs AND players), we're introducing new rules beginning in September.

We'll be enforcing new rules for what can and cannot be included in your written store page descriptions. We know that changes to written game description sections can be disruptive and may take time to update. So we're outlining the upcoming changes here so that you have time to adjust the contents of your page to meet these new rules before we start enforcing them.

These rules apply to the following four sections:

• The "About The Game" section
  
• the "Short Description" section
  
• Any "Special Announcement" sections
  
• The "Awards" section

These sections will have the following new limitations:

• No links to other websites - This means that you cannot use your store page to link to any other website, including social media pages. There are specific link fields provided within your store page editor for linking to common social media platforms or your own website.
  
• No embedded imagery that mimics Steam store UI or buttons - You should not have images or animations that are meant to look like Steam UI such as images that look like wishlist buttons or game capsules or prices.
  
• No images, links, or widgets pointing to other games on Steam - This means that you cannot use your store page description to advertise other products on Steam. If you have related products, you can set up bundles, franchises, or developer homepages.

Starting early September, we'll roll out an update that automatically hides any instances where a URL is included in a game's written description or other text section. This includes any contents within [url] tags on your page, as well as any other urls.



Last month we released some updates to how demos work and appear in the Steam store. You can read about those updates in our blog post The Great Steam Demo Update, 2024. Those changes to demos set the stage for this new update to our rules about linking between games in written descriptions.

These two sets of changes may not appear related at first glance, but they are actually intertwined. There have been three things on our list to work on, that all came together to form this set of updates:

1. We didn't like the trend of store pages linking prominently off to other store pages.
   We have been seeing more and more store pages that are effectively advertisements for OTHER store pages on Steam. This meant that on some game pages in the Steam store, you would find lists of 2, 3, or even 8 other games before you even got to read the description of the game you were looking at. We don't think that's great for customers trying to learn about a game on Steam and so we wanted to update the rules to prohibit games from using the written description area for linking to other games on Steam. However, there is one particular interesting use case of this cross linking that we wanted to continue supporting, which is the 'prologue' scenario. So that leads us to point number 2. (Sequels and franchises are also an interesting use of cross-linking, but Steam already has other features such as bundles or franchise pages to address that need)
   
   
2. We saw game developers releasing 'prologue' games on Steam, which was fine except that they were confusing for players.
   We've seen developers doing novel things on Steam to help build an audience though a separate app that most call a 'prologue'. In these examples, developers are buying a secondary appID and releasing it as a stand-alone free game to promote the upcoming release of their full premium game. This has been fine with us, but we've seen a few ways that it causes confusion for players and unnecessarily requires devs to pay a second app fee. With a few changes to how demos work, we can replicate the positive benefits of a separate 'prologue' while also creating a tighter connection between the two entities so that customers are clear on how to learn more about the full game and to wishlist the correct thing. The changes already made to demos should make it unnecessary for developers to purchase a separate appID to use for prologues, and can instead use the demo appID that is already associated with their game.
   
   
3. We have had an outstanding list of improvements that we've wanted to make for demos since they have become a key part of events such as Next Fest.
   When we consider the kinds of things that developers have been attempting to accomplish with 'prologue' apps, and with the feedback we've gathered from players and developers about how demos behave on Steam, we ended up with quite a list of improvements we could make to demos that would make a lot of things better for all parties. So, we shipped those updates last month and it seems like everyone is pretty happy with the results (of course we're paying attention to the feedback we're seeing and will be continuing to refine how things work).

Let us know your thoughts in the Steamworks forums.


Q. Does this mean that "Prologues" are officially banned?
A. We're not banning your ability to name a product as "Prologue" but you'll find that demos have become a much better path for building an audience and directing players to your full game.

Q. Can I still link to social media accounts in my written description?
A. No, but there are dedicated link fields under the "Basic Info" section of the store page editor where you can enter links to Discord, Facebook, X, Twitch, YouTube and your own website. These links are presented in a consistent and predictable way for players in the right-hand column of store pages.

Q. What will happen to the links already in my written description?
A. Starting in September, Steam will automatically recognize links in these sections and will make them disappear. If those links are wrapped around text or an image, then Steam will also hide the contents within the [url] block.

Q. How do I get visibility for the other games I make?
A. There are a couple options for helping players find other games you make.

• You can create bundles of related games, which will appear on the store page for each included game. See Steam Bundles Documentation for more info.
  
• You can set up a franchise page with all the games that take place in the same creative universe. A franchise will appear above your purchase options. See Franchise Documentation for more info.
  
• You can set up a developer or publisher page with all the games made by the same entity. See Developer/Publisher Homepage Documentation for more info.

Q. Can I still include links in the dedicated "Reviews" section?
A. Yes, there is a specific section of the store page editor where you can insert up to three press reviews, including a quote from the review and a link to the full review. Those will still accept urls to link to the full review.