Steam bans NFT and cryptocurrency games

On October 15, 2021, the developer of an upcoming NFT-based PC game, Age of Rust, revealed in a tweet that Steam is no longer allowing games built on blockchain technology or that "issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs." This rule was quietly added to Steam and Valve hasn't explained why it's banning NFTs and cryptocurrencies from Steam, but the decision doesn't appear rooted in any of the recent scandals or controversies around blockchain tech: NFTs have been used to scam people out of millions of dollars in exchange for what amounts to a receipt for a JPG, it's led to theft of art designed for other games, and the environmental cost of blockchain ledgers remains a controversial issue.

The reaction to this tweet resulted in many people mocking the fact that developers like Age of Rust can't scam people and some even pointed out how the whole point of NFTs was so they didn't need platforms like Steam proving that NFTs can't sell on their own.