r/gamedev•
4baobao

Steam allows ads to other apps in reviews and refuses to remove them even after opening a steamworks ticket

Discussion

I made some shitty translation app to go through the whole process of publishing an app on Steam. Well, a few days after I published it some random russian guy posted a negative review.

What he said in review is mostly legit and I don't care about it at all, my issue is that at the end he advertises his app. (well, might not be his app, but his steam name matches the author of the app)

The text in question:

Если же Вас интересует именно "помощник" для изучения языков или быстрого перевода с помощью OCR, советую обратить внимание на <his app>. Эту программу можно скачать в Microsoft Store, и она обладает рядом преимуществ перед "<my app>". Например, Вы сможете безлимитно использовать приложение как словарь (причем даже в офлайн-режиме) или же задействовать AI-ассистента, который не только переведет текст на экране, но и интегрирует его прямо в изображение. При этом PRO-версия программы предлагает куда более демократичные цены, если Вы решите пользоваться AI-переводом на постоянной основе.

which translates to:

If you are looking specifically for a "language assistant" or a fast OCR-based translator, I recommend checking out <his app>. Available in the Microsoft Store, it offers several advantages over <my app>. For instance, you can use it as an unlimited dictionary (even offline) or utilize its AI assistant, which not only translates on-screen text but integrates it directly into the image. Furthermore, the PRO version offers much more reasonable pricing if you decide to use the AI translation features on a regular basis.

First I marked it as "Violates Community Guidelines" on it's page and nothing happened. Then, I contacted steam via steamworks, explained the situation, linked them the articles, etc.

Their 1st response:

Hello,

It doesn't look like this review meets our criteria for removal.

You can read about that criteria and other info about how we moderate user reviews here, Steam User Reviews.

As always, If you see content on Steam that violates the rules, use the built in Report feature to flag that for our moderators, or let us know here in this conversation.

Steam Support
<name>

My response:

Hello, thanks for your response. I read the criteria before opening this ticket, more exactly this point under Customer Review Guidelines: "Do not use reviews for commercial purposes. Examples include: advertisements, referrals, or promotions.", so I fail to see how it does not meet your criteria for removal, since advertisements are clearly included here.

Thanks

Their response:

I appreciate your follow up, but we won’t be removing this one.

Steam Support
<name>

It clearly says in their guidelines that advertising is not allowed in reviews, but it looks like they just don't care.

So, I guess we can go ahead and advertise our apps/games in reviews now?

Posted May 1, 2026, 11:22 AM UTC

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