Valve co-founder and president Gabe Newell publicized its company's decision of banning games made on the blockchain technology in its Steam client.
Newell said that the problems were not with the uprising technology but with the individuals utilizing such that may be connected in transpiring fraudulent behaviors.
In October last year, Valve Corporation prohibited such doings by plugging in a new clause in its Platform Partner Rules and Guidelines stating that third-party developers were not allowed to make applications using or introducing NFTs or cryptocurrencies as a mode of exchange, as per Hawks article regarding the issue.
Another reason Gabe pointed out was the volatility of NFTs and cryptocurrencies; it was said that customers were mad, according to Sportskeeda's feature, to find out the big gap in the exchange price despite the little time difference.
Steam Statistical Review
Though Steam might have experienced setbacks regarding this decision, it will be in the long run determined with the yet to reflect revenue for 2021; in 2017 alone, Steam earned a total of $4.3 billion in exclusive of sales from DLCs and apps.
Steam, moreover, was responsible for 18 % of PC games sales worldwide, according to the Compare Camp statistics review.
It is said that the in-game purchases were not considered in that figure; 50%, nonetheless, of the revenue, came only from 100 games.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, PlayerUnkown's Battleground, Grand Theft Auto V, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege topped the most played games on stream, enlisting an approximate 3,100,000 peak number players.
Also, referential to the same statistical review site, Steam Platform provided over 121 million visits to its downloadable content publishing and hosting sites.
Uprising of Cryptocurrencies and NFTs
Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs and cryptocurrencies with their presence dating back in 2014, continuously make their way to reach more users; now more than ever, the pandemic accelerated its campaign through the rise of play-to-earn games that everybody wanted a piece of.
Hence its name, NFT does not have any equivalent; it is all about the uniqueness and ownership of a piece of art, according to Michael Golomb's article in Forbes.
Cryptocurrency, moreover, is a digital currency used for exchange in crypto platforms; the following list are the top ten important cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, from Investopedia:
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Polkadot (DOT)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Stellar (XLM)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Binance Coin (BNB)
- Tether (USDT)
- Monero (XMR)
Ethereum is the alternative currency for Bitcoin along the lines of Litecoin; Cardano, furthermore, is an "Ouroboros proof-of-stake" cryptocurrency engineered along the lines of scientific research by experts.
Adam Hayes comprehensively elucidated the frequently asked questions regarding cryptocurrencies in his article in Investopedia - 10 Important Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin.
With the revolution of the digital model of exchanges, this move of Valve Corporation garnered critiques, especially those devoted to digital rights in the same Hawks article; it was accompanied by an open letter that was eventually ignored.
Steam's Mode of Payment is Available
With NFTs and cryptocurrencies ejected from the choices, Steam accepts payment through Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, and Gcash.
It also does not support refunding the original payment method but is issued as a credit to one's Steam wallet. Check out Steam's terms in payment here for more information.
