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ARTICLE · 03 NOVEMBER 2021

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Steam Bans NFT And Cryptocurrency Games: Implications And Ramifications For The Videogame Industry

Winston Taylor
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Steam's decision raises new questions about the ramifications of NFTs for videogame companies.

United StatesTechnology
Michael Tomasulo
Michael Tomasulo

Steam, the world's largest gaming platform1, quietly banned the use of blockchain games and NFTs on its platform on October 15, 2021.2 Steam's decision raises new questions about the ramifications of NFTs for videogame companies.

Steam, NFTs, and The New Ban

After launching in 2003, Steam ended 2020 with 120 million active daily players, more than 60 million daily players, and huge audiences in the United States and China.3 It is estimated that Steam holds 75% of the market share for PC games, demonstrating its outsized dominance in the videogame industry.4

NFTs, or "Non-Fungible Tokens," are the latest innovation in blockchain technology. Generally, NFT's are "digital certificates" stored on the blockchain that commonly represent digital assets and media.5 As we have written previously, NFTs have caused disruptions across multiple industries, with multimillion-dollar prices for digital tokens raising concerns over fraud, copyright issues, and more.6

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