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(cry for help) 15 * 1 comment [MQPzIOHu] 1:53 The new HDRP water system is amazing! I created this cinematic cutscene to show how awesome that water looks and recorded a tutorial for you guys so you can start using it in your projects (Tutorial link in first comment) 171 * 233 comments Gamedev youtube is so stale 9 * 11 comments If I purchase a royalty free sound for a game, do modders also have the right to use it (in the game)? 34 * 21 comments Do you ever make something that looks too good for your game so you decide to leave it out? 9 * 1 comment Jump Physics in 2d Platformer Games 279 * 93 comments Have you ever discovered a bug in your game that you liked enough to make it a feature? 8 * 8 comments Is remote work common in this field? 26 * 16 comments Bullet engine optimizations techniques 20 * 24 comments What cool tricks do you know to make marketing your game super interesting and fun, first and foremost for yourself? Welcome to Reddit, the front page of the internet. Become a Redditor and join one of thousands of communities. x 312 313 314 Steam bans. (cry for help) (self.gamedev) submitted 10 hours ago by Ax-naar Hello fellow game developers! We are small studio which developed our first game(Against the moon), but then a huge disaster happened, so im reaching out for community, hoping for an advice. We made an agreement with a publishing company(Blacktower LLC) which shortly after game release was banned from steam. The game was put out of the store and you could only imagine how that hurt us after 3 years of development. We tried to resubmit the game to the Steam store under our own account (not a publisher, but studio), however Steam banned the game and our whole account. The comment from steam was short and dry "don't try to ever resubmit the game". We tried to raise support tickets to get some clarity and understand path forward, but steam never replied. I think there was about 7 support tickets from us with zero response. Truth is that publishing company had nothing to do with the game except marketing, so whatever reason they have been banned for (we don't even know) has nothing to do with our game. And it feels like we f****d :(. Not even talking about financial crash it is a huge disappointment for the team and some players, who liked the game. Guess, I just wanted to know if anybody knows any means to communicate with steam to clear the situation and lift the ban? It is really desperate situation for us and will appreciate any help. * 147 comments * share * save * hide * report all 147 comments sorted by: best topnewcontroversialoldrandomq&alive (beta) [ ] Want to add to the discussion? Post a comment! Create an account [-]Gwarks 128 points129 points130 points 8 hours ago (0 children) Maybe you can ask the guy that developed Fly Corp. He had similar problems but eventually get his game back on Steam. Update July 5th 8:52AM: KishMish says it knows why Fly Corp was removed from Steam. According to a statement given by the publisher on its official Discord channel, on the day the game was removed, one of its partners was banned from Steam, and that partner "had access to app control" within Steam. The initial line from Valve regarding the game being a resubmission of a banned app was "a mistake that was admitted by Steam support", according to KishMish. The studio says it's hoping to reinstate Fly Corp on Steam soon and implores fans to write to Valve and ask them to return it to the store. https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/vofjyl/steam\_banned\_my\ _game\_without\_any\_reason/ * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]BillBNLFan 69 points70 points71 points 7 hours ago (0 children) Contact Steam Legal not tech support Legal, Valve Corporation PO Box 168 Bellvue, WA 98004 Will not be a fast process * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]SecondTalon 201 points202 points203 points 9 hours ago* (11 children) If your publisher got banned, you resubmitting as your own account was likely seen as sockpuppeting. Hence the immediate ban. There's really not much you can do. Odds are not good that Steam is going to care - whatever reason they had for banning Black Tower Entertainment (as they were listed on Steam), they have every reason to suspect you too. Guilt by association and all. Is it fair? No. That's business for you. Best you can do is have your lawyer review your contract with Black Tower and see if there's anything in there you can use to sue for damages as it was their actions that have lead to your situation. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]fleeting_being 46 points47 points48 points 6 hours ago (8 children) One game from the publisher is still out, "Encased". Maybe they should reach out to the studio that created Encased. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]SecondTalon 36 points37 points38 points 4 hours ago* (3 children) All I know is, the publisher was "banned" and had everything removed in 2021. I do not know why they were banned, nor can I find their publisher page anymore. They seem to still exist as a Curator, with Encased listed on their page. Encased does not have Black Tower Entertainment listed as a publisher. BTE hasn't updated their webpage since 2021 either. I have no idea how the publisher for Encased was able to be changed. I can't help but wonder if it being in Early Access helped, that it wasn't finished and published so it could still be changed, or how those devs went about changing things, but.. I am 100% sure OP fucked themselves by trying to relist it without letting Valve know what was happening, that they were changing publishers and so on. So I suspect that, from Valve's point of view, it just looked like a publisher ban evasion. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Tats4Toddlers 10 points11 points12 points 3 hours ago (1 child) This is weird to me, why would the creators of a game be punished for "associating" with a publisher? They aren't the publisher, but an entirely different entity. Seems lame on steams part honestly. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]SecondTalon 9 points10 points11 points 2 hours ago* (0 children) In doing some quick research for it - I found an instance of a publisher being banned and it taking out dozens of games with it as most, if not all of them, were shell companies of the publisher. I didn't see why that particular one was banned, but I did see another one get thrown out for review boosting - again, taking anyone who'd published through them out. Finding news on and reasons why publishers get banned from Steam is surprisingly hard. I can only assume Steam doesn't want to publicly say "Hey! We let these bad actors fuck up our platform for two years before we caught them!" and the Publisher doesn't want to say "So Steam banned us for this scam, so don't do it anymore". I know Black Tower has a couple of different names, but that's not surprising. I know they do business with Russia, but this was 2021 so that's not surprising either. All I know is that in Feb. 2021, when they got banned from Steam, they dropped off the face of the Earth and ceased all communication. Taking OP at face value here, and that we know as much as OP does (especially considering that at a glance, there's nothing wrong with OP's game), then we really don't know what was going on here. We don't know if OP was the first group the publisher worked with that wasn't secretly them. We don't know what caused the publisher to get banned. We don't know why a game that was reported to be published by them in 2021 is still up (and still on their webpage as, again, they've not updated since 2021) All we know is that OP was caught in the explosion when the Publisher was banned. Is it crappy on Steam's part to not investigate everything? Yes. Does Steam give a single shit that it's being crappy to a by all indications single game developer? No, it doesn't, as it views the good of removing the bad actor as being worth the hit. Yes, losing this deal pretty much destroys OP's revenue stream. Steam's cut of their income is less than a rounding error of their annual profits. They have no real incentive to care. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]fleeting_being 1 point2 points3 points 3 hours ago (0 children) Yep, sounds right It's too bad, the game looks very nice. With a better publisher, they would have received the playtesting to fix the gameplay issues, and wouldn't have gotten banned. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]ExoticAsparagus333 4 points5 points6 points 5 hours ago (0 children) Encased is a very good game. I am surprised this publisher was a legit publisher that was banned * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]CommPavel 2 points3 points4 points 5 hours ago (1 child) Encased the RPG? Isn't it supposed to be published by Prime Matter * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]fleeting_being 1 point2 points3 points 5 hours ago (0 children) No idea to be honest. But yeah, the whole affaire is weird * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]2this4u 12 points13 points14 points 2 hours ago (1 child) You'd think taking a 30% cut would pay for some proper support to help developers reach someone when it's needed. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]SecondTalon 1 point2 points3 points 2 hours ago (0 children) You'd think so. You'd really fuckin' think so. You'd also have thought the 30% from 2004 to, say, 2011 would give them the funding they need to get Half-Life 3 out the door too. Ultimately, though - this does sound like a case of you getting thrown out of a bar because you hang out with Mike "Break-a-Pool-Table Thursdays" Jones, even though you didn't know that was his favorite thing to do on Thursdays * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]DarkDuskBlade 145 points146 points147 points 8 hours ago (12 children) You might have to look into getting a lawyer for help, particularly if your publisher (Black Tower, if I read right in the comments) is stonewalling you and they're the reason you can't get your game back on Steam. That being said, they're not completely banned from Steam (Encased is there). Even though they gave you back the IP, said IP is worthless if you can't publish it yourself or get another publisher for it. Alternatively, Epic store might be a place to check out. They probably at least have more traffic that GOG. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Feral0_o 50 points51 points52 points 7 hours ago (4 children) Alternatively, Epic store might be a place to check out. They probably at least have more traffic that GOG. I don't really see any reason to not use any store out there, anyway, unless it's not feasible for some reason. I thought everyone is doing it now. Steam certainly is unquestionably still the behemoth, and by a wide margin I imagine * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]MeaningfulChoicesLead Game Designer 30 points31 points32 points 7 hours ago (3 children) There's a certain amount of overhead involved with getting something on a store, especially if you're using Steam features for core parts of the game like multiplayer. You'd also rather have all your traffic in one place - it's better to get everyone buying the game on Steam and be in the top 5 for a category than half buying on each store and be in 30th place on both platforms. It's still likely going to be worth it, depending on game and situation (and if one of the curated stores accepts the game), but it isn't entirely without cost and there are reasons to not put in the effort just to actively hurt sales for some titles. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Professional_Bid_986 13 points14 points15 points 5 hours ago (2 children) Epic just changed their publishing model to closely resemble Steams. Its actually pretty easy to self publish as of earlier this year. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]ADZ-420 0 points1 point2 points 3 hours ago (1 child) Is there a fee? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]way2lazy2care 1 point2 points3 points 3 hours ago (0 children) It costs $100 per title * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]zebishop -5 points-4 points-3 points 8 hours ago (3 children) I can't understand why that comment is not higher up. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]DarkDuskBlade 1 point2 points3 points 5 hours ago (2 children) Because there might honestly not be a case; it could just be bad luck for whatever reason. There could be contracts involved that aren't worth fighting. And I mean worth literally. OP is a small dev; Black Tower at least has the business to put up as collateral even if they don't have other assets (and fairly certain their remaining Steam game is decently received, so there's probably some money there in addition to other games they've published). But just the threat of a lawyer might be enough to at least stop the stonewalling and figure out just what happened/what's going on with the publisher in general. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]zebishop 8 points9 points10 points 5 hours ago (0 children) You're saying the same thing I am. Except that it will change "might not" to "absolutely not" or to "quite likely". You're not seeing a lawyer to sue every time. They provide legal counsel that helps making informed choices. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]BenevolentCheese 7 points8 points9 points 4 hours ago (0 children) Because there might honestly not be a case; Yes but to figure that out they should speak to a lawyer, not give up before they even know what the deal is. A lawyer's job is not just to serve lawsuits, they also exist to help clients understand the law and understand their options in a given scenario. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]CorballyGames@CorballyGames [score hidden] 36 minutes ago (2 children) Encased has a different publisher, Prime Matter. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]DarkDuskBlade [score hidden] 25 minutes ago (1 child) Something's hinky/weird with Black Tower in general, which just sorta supports them getting rebranded or abandoned. * Website doesn't seem to have anything meaningful posted past 2021 * Encased's website still lists them as a copyright holder in the footer, but as you mentioned, Prime Matter is the Steam Page's listed publisher * No staff is listed on their page (and there's a few oddities on the site that I didn't notice until looking a little closer) None of this is a nail in the coffin; it could be the company dissolved and nobody bothered to take down the site (though someone's still paying for the domain?). It's just been kinda interesting to look into this. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]CorballyGames@CorballyGames [score hidden] 25 minutes ago (0 children) Very odd indeed. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]MeaningfulChoicesLead Game Designer 62 points63 points64 points 9 hours ago (8 children) You can always try to get a hold of an actual person through your network. If you all had prior jobs in the industry before working together someone probably has a friend of a friend at Valve or a connection on LinkedIn you could use. Otherwise you might not really have another path here. It depends a bit on the contract you signed with the publisher. If they didn't give you any upfront funding and there was no minimum guarantee or 'What to do if your game gets pulled' type areas then you may not have relief. Especially if they still have the IP/exclusive publishing rights. It feels like you should be talking with the publisher more than Steam about how to make it right. Encased is still up on Steam, for example. Otherwise you can try Epic or other stores like GOG, or try with another publisher, but if Steam said no then yes, you can just be out of luck. Sometimes you place a bet with the wrong company. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 37 points38 points39 points 9 hours ago (7 children) Thanks for your response. Publisher company got weird and they fired all people. They transferred IP back to us, but no luck to push to the steam. We are on GOG, but sales are negligible compare to steam, it feels like a graveyard. Unfortunately I have zero network in game industry and unable to pull any favors here. All my attempts to communicate with a person from Valve via "official" channels are futile so far. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]MeaningfulChoicesLead Game Designer 32 points33 points34 points 9 hours ago (1 child) Yeah, that's the unfortunate truth about other PC markets. Unfortunately I don't have any other answers, especially given the publisher apparently folding. The only thing I can really imagine is working with a different publisher who would have the contacts at Valve to sort this out themselves. Given that you've got a strategy game I might suggest reaching out to Tim at Hooded Horse. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 14 points15 points16 points 9 hours ago (0 children) Thanks for the advice! I will try to do this * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Polygnom 14 points15 points16 points 8 hours ago (1 child) Write them actual, physical mail. That usually gets a response. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]YouveBeanReported 8 points9 points10 points 2 hours ago (0 children) Certified mail. No promise they reply, but proof they accepted the letter. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]dropzonexl 4 points5 points6 points 5 hours ago (2 children) If Valve won't respond maybe only answer is communication via lawyers even if just to get a reason for removal. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Tolkien-Minority 6 points7 points8 points 3 hours ago (1 child) The issue is I don't think Valve legally owe anyone an explanation for what they allow on their platform. So getting a lawyer involved will more than likely just be an expensive waste of money * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]dropzonexl 2 points3 points4 points 3 hours ago (0 children) I don't think just a lawyer letter itself is expensive. A legal action though would be expensive. Maybe it is different in terms of legal costs in US compared to UK though. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 48 points49 points50 points 8 hours ago (12 children) I am confused. It seems like your game "Against The Moon" was released years ago? The social media accounts and everything stopped posting about its updates more than 2 years ago now. Bought this game on steam. It got banned on steam. Now the devs are stonewalling anybody who bought the game on steam and demand either a refund or the version on GOG for free, since you can't get updates or the promised DLC. And the state in which the game was left is essentially breaking it for 50% of people. So yeah, just so you know whom you buying from. The game is OK, the devs certainly not, and I'd strongly urge you to reconsider buying from them. And no, I don't care if it's steam's fault or not. Not the point. Their unwillingness to provide information or a sultion however IS the point. Make of that what you will. This is a comment from your GoG page, posted on the 30th of October 2021? Idk, im getting some sus vibes here not gonna lie. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 16 points17 points18 points 8 hours ago (7 children) The whole story is from 2021. Last couple years we tried to resolve it internally with publisher and via steam support, with no luck. Couple years passed, but I don't want to give-up. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 20 points21 points22 points 8 hours ago (1 child) Are you 100% certain that your game is not the reason the publisher got banned on Steam? It might not be your fault, but if the publisher somehow did something with your game and thats why they got banned and the game removed? If so, I doubt Valve will let your game back on for any reason, even if you are innocent. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 20 points21 points22 points 8 hours ago (0 children) Frankly, neither publisher nor steam gave us formal ban reason. We heard internal rumors about some traffic manipulation back in 2014, but nothing formal, descriptive or reliable. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]BingpotStudio -2 points-1 points0 points 4 hours ago (3 children) So you've been working on this issue for 2 years and don't know why you're banned still and nobody has told you anything over those 2 years? Why post now if that's the case? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]SirSoliloquy 15 points16 points17 points 4 hours ago (2 children) So you're saying he should just never bring it to anyone else's attention? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]iamnotroberts 2 points3 points4 points 1 hour ago (0 children) OP admitted that there have been issues since 2014. Almost a decade later and now they want to address them? Yikes. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]BingpotStudio -5 points-4 points-3 points 3 hours ago (0 children) I'm saying this situation seems unlikely. More likely - there is a known reason that was uncovered over the last 2 years. If that isn't the case, I'm curious why they waited 2 years to post about it. What changed? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Tensor3 -2 points-1 points0 points 5 hours ago (0 children) You that commenter is correct you screwed over your customers and ignored them 2 years ago? Cool. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Feral0_o 19 points20 points21 points 7 hours ago (3 children) 2021? Yeah, there is a little more to the story. Or it took them two years to get around to fixing this situation * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Rhhr21 2 points3 points4 points 3 hours ago (2 children) Steam doesn't ban a game or a publisher for no reason. There is sth going on that OP is not letting on. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]rabid_briefcaseMulti-decade Industry Veteran (AAA) 0 points1 point 2 points 1 hour ago (1 child) There is sth going on that OP is not letting on. Yes, quite a lot is going on that he doesn't know. OP says as much, both Blacktower and Steam have been doing things, but he doesn't have access to those communications. It isn't because OP is keeping it secret, it's because the other companies are silent. Unfortunately he is in a situation that is increasingly common. Neither of the people with the control (in this case Steam and Blacktower) are willing to actually talk to him. Blacktower because they're likely looking at bankruptcy and closure, Steam because they have become terrified of lawsuits and therefore say nothing unless legally required. It's a pattern seen by most companies once they reach a certain size. Google and Apple are both extremely guilty of it. Written feedback becomes non-existent. They will say nothing, they won't disclose the reasons behind what they do, they won't disclose if an actual human received the message, they won't disclose ANY information. If you reach out to them they'll either ignore it or silently alter the status on the store usually with no communication from an actual human. If you're lucky you'll get an automated, lawyer-approved response, but often they don't even do that. Valve Corp has undergone four transitions. From founding through 2003 they were an amazing company. From 2003-2008 they got rich and built a ton of IP. Then from about 2008-2013 they transitioned from a company that made things into a services company. Finally, in 2013 Newell laid off pretty much all the people actually producing new things, instead of dealing with games they dealt with lawyers to amass wealth. Modern Valve is all about keeping customers locked into using Steam, and extracting the 30% that keeps them swimming in money. They're facing lawsuits for all kinds of things around illegal business practices and anticompetitive practices as a result. They're also losing the lawsuits left and right, and realizing it's in their interest to settle the cases quickly. That's actually part of the reason OP is facing the problem he is. Valve won't say anything because they've been trained not to. Valve only writes to people with lawyer-approved form letters, and otherwise say nothing. They won't touch products if they think they might cause problems, and since they're not obligated to publish anything they'll immediately dump anything and everything, regardless of the fallout. It is easier for Valve, and the damage to the company is just a tiny cut, almost non-existent. Unfortunately right now we're in a transition time. Either Valve needs to reinvent themselves or they're going to die as everyone abandons them and they face death by a thousand cuts. Except they're big, so it will take millions or maybe billions of tiny cuts. They've got enormous inertia, and so many billion dollars that even if he doesn't reform it's going to take many years for the status quo to die. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]CorballyGames@CorballyGames [score hidden] 30 minutes ago (0 children) as everyone abandons them Who is doing that though? If anything the opposite is true, with even Sony bringing their games to Steam. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Deatheragenator 28 points29 points30 points 8 hours ago (12 children) You can try emailing GabeN and explain everything. If you're lucky it will help. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]SigmaEpsilonChi 27 points28 points29 points 8 hours ago* (10 children) OP, make sure you try this one. I don't know if it's still true but for many years Gabe was famous for actually reading every email. My friend wrote to him in 8th grade and he wrote back. That was about 15 years ago but it's worth a shot. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]baleay 21 points22 points23 points 7 hours ago (6 children) I heard this somewhere before, but something about writing an email to the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company regarding an issue with said company is bonkers to me. Huge props to Gabe if he actually still does this. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]AlexMrosk 20 points21 points22 points 6 hours ago (0 children) You would be surprised how many "inaccessible" people will talk to you if you just send a well written email. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]2this4u 0 points1 point2 points 2 hours ago (1 child) I dunno about props when they take a 30% cut yet can't offer a person for devs to talk to when their game gets banned. Should be enough budget in there to give people at least one conversation to explain before things are final. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]baleay 1 point2 points3 points 1 hour ago (0 children) Right. All the points you make stand. From the perspective of this post it does seem pretty shitty on Steam's part, and, as an aspiring game dev, I do wish Steam had better competition to be forced to lower their cut. Alas, it is not so(yet). It was not my intention to counter argue any of these points. I was merely alluding to the rumor that Gabe goes through his emails to which anyone can write. It is only a rumor to me, because I haven't actively searched it up, nor do I care enough to, but I did read it a few times so there must be some truth to it. A bored CEO going through his emails and replying to some of them every once in a while does not seem like the most unlikely thing. Sure as shit sounds better usage of bored time than right wing shitposting 24/7 like Musk does on Twitter. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-16 points-15 points-14 points 5 hours ago (2 children) He doesn't. This is idiotic billionaire worship, akin to the Facebook posts where if you repost Bill Gates will give you $1000! * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]baleay 18 points19 points20 points 5 hours ago (1 child) Not sure how you view that as billionaire worship, but it sounds like you're really angry about something. I'm sorry. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]AssertiveDilettante -1 points0 points1 point 5 hours ago (0 children) People are mythologizing Newell by pretending that he actually responds to people personally for any reason other than PR, and by completely neglecting the fact that incredibly lacking to entirely non-existent communication channels is the only reason contacting him would be necessary in the first place. If he actually cared, he would spend a fraction of the money steam earns on proper support, so people could stop feeling at Valve's mercy for their wages, but I suppose that doesn't really serve Valve, does it? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 8 points9 points10 points 8 hours ago (0 children) Sure, I give it a shot * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]random_devnull 7 points8 points9 points 7 hours ago (0 children) He never responded to mine, dunno if he read it though. He probably gets too many to read these days. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]rabid_briefcaseMulti-decade Industry Veteran (AAA) 0 points1 point 2 points 1 hour ago (0 children) That was about 15 years ago Yes, that was a different era. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]iamnotroberts -1 points0 points1 point 1 hour ago (0 children) No, don't email Gabe. That public email is a virtual shredder 99.9999% of the time. Email someone in a relevant department. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Caesim 13 points14 points15 points 9 hours ago (1 child) From my understanding your game is still in Steam's database and even though the publisher got banned, the game is still there. The fact that you resubmitted the game was probably bad and they see it as an attempt to evade a ban. You really need to contact the support, tell them that you made mistakes and with all receipts (that the publisher gave you the rights) ask that they transfer the ownership of the game to your studio's account. Maybe try to work out with them if the game only got banned because of the publisher of if there is a spearate issue with the game itself. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 11 points12 points13 points 8 hours ago (0 children) This is correct. However I've submitted about 7 support tickets over last year and wrote some emails. No response, no comments. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]GameDevKirk 4 points5 points6 points 7 hours ago (0 children) You can likely use this as grounds to terminate your contract with them, but it seems like you're out of luck when it comes to getting it back on steam. IMO you should talk to an attorney and consider forcing them to pull your game from any other platforms. If steam banned them, others could be close behind and you don't want to end up with no platforms at all to sell on. Just resubmit under your name on any platforms you still can. Sorry this happened to you friend. Hope you're able to get your game out there! * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]aski5 10 points11 points12 points 8 hours ago (12 children) That's awful. Situations like this underscore just how much power valve has over the market... * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]codehawk64 2 points3 points4 points 8 hours ago (11 children) Yeah, it's an unsettling feeling. Steam's actions are very unreasonable here. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 28 points29 points30 points 7 hours ago (10 children) Steam's actions are very unreasonable here. We have literally no idea about the circumstances that made Valve remove this game from Steam. For all we know, the game could have been bundled with malware or god knows what. Maybe they broke some other rules, its silly to try and pick sides here when we have no information about the situation. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]ESGPandepic 15 points16 points17 points 7 hours ago (3 children) The extreme difficulty of getting in contact with anyone at valve/ steam that can help you is still very worrying though. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 0 points1 point2 points 7 hours ago (2 children) If you read the post, Steam did originally get back to them. They replied that no, you will never be able to reupload your game to Steam. I have had problems with multiple things on Steamworks, and without fail, Valve has helped me out. They reply fairly quickly and you can talk to a person about your issue and they will help you resolve it. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]ThyssenKrup 6 points7 points8 points 4 hours ago (0 children) Got back to them to say fuck you, without any explanation. Not really getting back to them is it. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]CorballyGames@CorballyGames [score hidden] 27 minutes ago (0 children) Yeah that's been my experience too. Op's message feels like the last one in a chain tbh. Maybe Steam have been treating pub and dev as one issue, which would explain the immediate finality. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]2this4u 2 points3 points4 points 2 hours ago (1 child) Regardless of the situation for the ban, if OP is telling the truth it's terrible that Steam won't give them any opportunity to explain the situation or even know why they were banned. We know from other examples they aren't communicative in these situations, which when they take a 30% cut is unreasonable in my opinion. Yes they don't want to be swamped by bad actors, but they should be able to provide at least 1 human conversation to give people a chance to explain a situation. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 0 points1 point2 points 1 hour ago (0 children) If a game developer clearly breaks your rules several times, how many times do you owe it to them to give them another chance or spend time communicating with them? If someone cheated in your online game, would you spend time every week to tell them why they got banned, over and over and over again? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]codehawk64 1 point2 points3 points 7 hours ago (0 children) True. Best to not take any sides here if we aren't 100% sure of the facts. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-22 points-21 points-20 points 6 hours ago (2 children) For all we know, the game could have been bundled with malware or god knows what. Fuck you. My god I loathe pieces of shit like you. Keep gaben's cock out of your mouth for 1 second to restore oxygen to your brain. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Game_Dev_Tears -1 points0 points1 point 5 hours ago (1 child) Honestly, "but think of the big monopolistic corporation:(" * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Horror-Strategy5410 -5 points-4 points-3 points 5 hours ago (0 children) Those poor poor rich billionaires :( * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]wikklworks 5 points6 points7 points 9 hours ago (1 child) That is insane. I'm very sorry to hear that. Indeed, contacting someone at steam would be the best path. Search linkedin like crazy. But if it fails, I would probably try to rename the game in some way. What a pain, again, sorry for you. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 1 point2 points3 points 9 hours ago (0 children) Thanks for your words. Ill try LinkedIn for sure * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Elegant-Tomorrow-203 2 points3 points4 points 9 hours ago (1 child) At this point could you use a service like patchkit to at least try to recoup some losses. https://patchkit.net/ * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 0 points1 point2 points 9 hours ago (0 children) https://patchkit.net/ Thanks, I'll check it * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]FreakZoneGamesCommercial (Indie) 2 points3 points4 points 7 hours ago (0 children) Unless you can get through to an actual person at Valve (definitely try that first), I think your best bet is to rebrand the game - Alter the name and some of the visual elements so that it is no longer connected to the banned publisher in any way, salvage your content. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]CrackinPacts 2 points3 points4 points 6 hours ago (0 children) The link to your webpage on the publisher's site is also dead atm. (others still work) Seek legal counsel. Your publisher seems sketchy as hell. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]IwazaruK7 2 points3 points4 points 4 hours ago (0 children) Something similar happened to "Electric Highways" game after "Dagestan Technology" publisher was banned. Developers of Highways never had any luck bringing it back to Steam, so they went to Itch and GameJolt. Game was freeware, though, so devs are in other situation than OP. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Greyh4m[] 2 points3 points4 points 3 hours ago (0 children) I have a crazy kind of last resort idea if you can't get the straight forward fix with Steam. Do you have the resources to make as many easy changes to the game as you can in the shortest amount of time that you can? Like, a new name, new assets, new fonts etc. and then see if you can get this new game on Steam? It's a last resort and I know a crazy idea but this reminds me of every time I've lost huge chunks of work. It's always a setback but when you go to redo the work it's always faster and better than the previous time before. I say definitely try everything else first but consider this an option if it means you're going to lose out big if there is no way to get "THIS" game back up on Steam. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]ShokWayve 2 points3 points4 points 2 hours ago (0 children) Perhaps call Valve directly and explain the situation to them. Consider sending them a letter too. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]lincon127 6 points7 points8 points 7 hours ago (3 children) Publish everywhere but Steam. There's Epic, GoG and Itch.io. Steam isn't necessary to be successful Edit: you will likely need to market your game if it goes on other platforms * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]fleeting_being 4 points5 points6 points 6 hours ago (0 children) They published to GOG, but they have a couple bad reviews from people who bought it on steam and didn't get refunded. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Horror-Strategy5410 2 points3 points4 points 5 hours ago (0 children) you will likely need to market your game if it goes on other platforms You also have to do this if you use Steam. Valve doesn't earn its 30%. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]BMCarbaugh 0 points1 point2 points 1 hour ago (0 children) Speaking as an indie developer with direct experience: sales on every other platform are a joke, no matter how much marketing you throw at it. Nobody loves Steam, but as far as digital distribution on PC, in terms of raw numbers, nothing else even remotely comes close. The gulf is so vast as to be almost hilarious. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]tcpuklCommercial (AAA) 5 points6 points7 points 9 hours ago (12 children) If you own the IP still can you change the name and get a new steamApp ID? Did you keep the same app id when you resubmitted it? * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]aplundell 17 points18 points19 points 6 hours ago (6 children) If they specifically told you not to resubmit the game, and then you changed the name so they wouldn't notice you were resubmitting ... that might end poorly for you. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]FuturePast514 comment score below threshold-9 points-8 points-7 points 6 hours ago (4 children) It would be different game tho. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Endysis_Aponia 9 points10 points11 points 5 hours ago (3 children) You're risking total ban from Steam for circumventing a ban. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]amunak -1 points0 points1 point 1 hour ago (2 children) I mean they already effectively have one. Won't change much I don't think? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Endysis_Aponia [score hidden] 40 minutes ago (0 children) They just can't put this game on the store front, total ban could prevent him from putting anything on Steam ever again. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]CorballyGames@CorballyGames [score hidden] 26 minutes ago (0 children) You would be wrong. They cannot resubmit their current project, but can submit something new. If they change the name and do what the poster suggests, they'll likely get a permaban, and no project, new, old, or renamed will be accepted. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]tcpuklCommercial (AAA) 0 points1 point2 points 5 hours ago (0 children) Yeah, we don't know how they submitted under their studio though. Was it the same steam app I'd? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 6 points7 points8 points 9 hours ago (4 children) We can't really change a game title, it would require quite a rework. I've been thinking about registering new LLC and trying to resubmit, but im afraid they will just ban new legal entity again. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]OlegKazakov1990 11 points12 points13 points 8 hours ago (2 children) I think better way would be to reskin the game, keeping all the mechanics and game design the same, but switching the name, a little bit of models, some lore, color grading etc. Then make different screenshots and trailers and start from scratch. It's still a lot of work, but at least you're not losing everything * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]FreakZoneGamesCommercial (Indie) 6 points7 points8 points 7 hours ago (0 children) Basically this, yeah. You can salvage your work by changing it enough to be able to submit it as a different game. It doesn't mean changing everything, just enough to make it distinct from what the publisher submitted before. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]rabid_briefcaseMulti-decade Industry Veteran (AAA) 0 points1 point 2 points 1 hour ago (0 children) Yup. Many companies do this. Critically the studio is not releasing the same game. The studio is releasing a NEW game, which leverages the technology of the old game. "From the studio who brought you Foo, come get Bar, the great new game from AxNaar Studio! Set in the same world, we now bring you three new levels, two new characters, and six never-before seen story lines that will knock your socks off!" It's especially true because the old stuff happened in 2021. It's been a few years. If people liked the old stuff, give them something new to spend money on. Don't completely dump the old stuff though, because in about five years you can release "Foo Remastered", just not published on Steam, "Exclusively available on the Epic Game Store." * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]tcpuklCommercial (AAA) 0 points1 point2 points 7 hours ago (0 children) It's better than losing everything though. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]ghostsquad4 1 point2 points3 points 2 hours ago (0 children) Keep filing tickets asking for help. Make a PR statement on social media platforms, tagging Steam. Keep being a squeaky wheel, eventually you'll get the grease you need. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Quicksilver-25 1 point2 points3 points 2 hours ago (0 children) For safety/legal reasons you may just want to rebrand your game and studio. Take a tad longer to do, but may make you better in the long run. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Svardskampe [score hidden] 51 minutes ago (0 children) I'd just rework the title of the game and republish as a completely different game. Way less of an effort than trying to appeal this by moving heaven and earth. It would also give you a second chance to launch with more content, because I see that the game was reviewed really poorly. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Lucarius_ [score hidden] 15 minutes ago (0 children) Put it on Epic Games while you try to resolve this * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]EPIKGUTS24 3 points4 points5 points 6 hours ago (3 children) email gabe newell * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 0 points1 point2 points 6 hours ago (0 children) Done * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-27 points-26 points-25 points 5 hours ago (1 child) Dumbest comment in thread. Steamcucks never cease to amaze tho. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]EPIKGUTS24 4 points5 points6 points 5 hours ago (0 children) ... what? Gabe is well known to read and even respond to a lot of the emails he receives. It's entirely plausible that messaging him could solve the problem. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]BubbleFoundation 0 points1 point2 points 3 hours ago (0 children) Fuck steam * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Wiizurdd 0 points1 point2 points 6 hours ago (3 children) If you are out of options email Gabe Newell. He actually reads them. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 0 points1 point2 points 6 hours ago (0 children) Waiting for response * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-25 points-24 points-23 points 5 hours ago (1 child) Just like how Bill Gates pays anyone who retweets this $1000! You Steamcucks are such low IQ morons. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Wiizurdd 2 points3 points4 points 3 hours ago (0 children) Look up some interviews and stories about it and you will see its actually true. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]marul_ 0 points1 point2 points 6 hours ago (2 children) Try emailing Gaben. There is a myth that he reads all his emails. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 0 points1 point2 points 6 hours ago (0 children) Done ! * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-15 points-14 points-13 points 5 hours ago (0 children) Just like the myth that reposting/retweet a 12 year old's post about Bill Gates will result in him giving you $1000! I hope you're 12 years old bc an adult posting this would be soooo embarrassing. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Draug_ 0 points1 point2 points 6 hours ago (0 children) I would aim to publish on Epic game store or GOG. After that I would rebrand the game. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]LonelyShower7747 1 point2 points3 points 9 hours ago (4 children) What did you put in the game to get banned? * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 12 points13 points14 points 9 hours ago (3 children) It was banned, because publisher account was banned, therefore ALL game under publisher account considered to be banned. Game is fine, it was in the store fore a few weeks with no issues. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]LonelyShower7747 5 points6 points7 points 9 hours ago (2 children) I see, that's unfortunate. Well, Steam is like a mafia boss. What did the publisher do to get banned? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 4 points5 points6 points 9 hours ago (1 child) We don't know. They stonewalled communication and seems like majority of people were fired * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]zhzhzhzhbm 7 points8 points9 points 8 hours ago (0 children) I did a bit of research and looks like the company is from Russia or either was financed from there. Given their peculiar situation and generally all previous major crises that was a totally typical situation and looks like the company switched to darker practices just before the total bankruptcy which lead to ban. On your case I checked the reviews on GOG and people seem to be unhappy regarding your company instead so a bit of damage control might be in order too. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]DueLaw5526 -1 points0 points1 point 9 hours ago (6 children) Most probably your game is breaking Steam's rule in some way, you need to check what is and fix it. Are you using copyrighted material? Are you using cracked software? etc... Read the entire code of the game to check if someone wrote a virus on it... * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 6 points7 points8 points 9 hours ago (3 children) Game passed all the steam checks and was available in the store for a few weeks. Nothing changed in the code or materials. And no, we never used any unlicensed content or tools. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]DueLaw5526 0 points1 point2 points 9 hours ago (2 children) Looked at their website and socials.. it seems like a normal website but why they have links to Prime Matter publisher? Maybe they tried to steal ur work, no? * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Ax-naar[S] 0 points1 point2 points 8 hours ago (1 child) I have no clue on what is happening with their internal kitchen. Don't think they tried to steal it, as they are not selling it anywhere. Fun thing is that all this happened 3 days before planned addon release. Was a free addon to bring more content and fix major issues in the game. This content never seen the light. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]DueLaw5526 2 points3 points4 points 8 hours ago (0 children) Its still available on GOG. I hope u fix this issue. Good Luck! Also a GOG's comment said it was banned on steam from 2021 and were stonewalled. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-6 points-5 points-4 points 5 hours ago (1 child) Most probably Steam just sucks and Valve are careless assholes. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Nejaa_Halcyon 2 points3 points4 points 2 hours ago (0 children) Come back with a real account * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Votron-Jones -1 points0 points1 point 4 hours ago (1 child) Email Gabe Newell (head of valve) the man reads and responds to every email he recieves * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]iamnotroberts 0 points1 point2 points 1 hour ago (0 children) HE DEFINITELY DOES NOT. Not the public email, anyway. He has replied to a FEW in the past. OP should email a more relevant department or person. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+][deleted] 8 hours ago (9 children) [deleted] [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 5 points6 points7 points 7 hours ago (8 children) will continue tgeir anti-competition bullshit Such as? * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]MJBrune@UnderflowStudio 1 point2 points3 points 3 hours ago (4 children) I'm not the person you replied to, they seem to be a dick. I am however yet another developer who has seen Steam's anti-competitive bullshit. On the very minor side, I was submitting a demo for my game post-launch and had to get steal approval for the demo. The end card of the demo said "Buy the game on Steam or Itch.io". Steam rejected the build because "Or itch.io" was there and was not allowed. Steam disallowed the mentioning of other store platforms in-game or on Steam pages. I think they still do. Some might see that as "fair" but that is the definition of anti-competition. When you mix in that they have a monopoly on the PC gaming space then you really start to see how they are trying to hold on to it. They won't let developers inform the customers of other storefronts. So yeah, steam is very anti-competitive. They want 30% of every penny that changes hands. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]iamnotroberts [score hidden] 57 minutes ago (0 children) Walmart doesn't put out ads promoting Target. Epic doesn't promote Steam sales, either. Weird, right? There are other ways that devs and publishers can let players know that a game is available on other platforms. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) -2 points-1 points0 points 2 hours ago (2 children) You are free to advertise that your game is on other storefronts everywhere but on the steam platform itself. That is very, very fair. Why in the world would Valve let you use their platform to advertise for other storefronts? Makes no sense. If that is your only example of the so called "anti-competitive" tactics that Valve are up to, then I remain strong in my belief that Valve is one of the fairest, pro developer corporations out there. The only reason they have such a big grip on the market (not a monopoly by the way, by definition) is because Steam is superior to any other platform, in basically every way. That and they were first, which helps a lot. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]MJBrune@UnderflowStudio 0 points1 point2 points 2 hours ago (1 child) As I said, it was the very minor side. That said they are actively in a court case for being a monopoly from Wolfire games. https://www.steamclaims.com/_files/ugd/ 3cd19f_409cb12dbb2c447e97cab4febbf2eead.pdf I will admit, it's not something I should have said as a fact but also in the other way, you can't say as a fact they aren't. It's very much up in the air until that case gets settled. The case makes a lot of arguments for them being a monopoly by definition. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) -1 points0 points1 point 1 hour ago (0 children) The case makes a lot of arguments for them being a monopoly by definition. Corporations get sued all the time. Obviously Valve will win the case as they are not a monopoly in any way. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [+]Horror-Strategy5410 comment score below threshold-16 points-15 points-14 points 5 hours ago (2 children) Are you really this low IQ and uninformed? What a moronic question. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]S3DBCommercial (Indie) 8 points9 points10 points 4 hours ago (0 children) I could become less ignorant about the topic if someone would bother to explain, rather than waste time on meaningless insults. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]BwobPaper Dino Software 8 points9 points10 points 4 hours ago (0 children) Are you really this low IQ and uninformed? What a moronic question. Wow, what a great way to make your point! By not only refusing to provide any information, but by also jumping immediately to insults! You must be an incredible debater. * permalink * embed * save * parent * report * give award * reply [-]Derf0007 0 points1 point2 points 5 hours ago (0 children) Steam is usually very responsive. Just reach out to the same email chain you used when they reviewed your game. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]Kaldrinn 0 points1 point2 points 3 hours ago (0 children) I'm really sorry for your situation, it's really awful. I cannot give much better advice than what everyone else already said, and try other stores. Good luck on your journey and keep us updated if there's a breakthrough, might be very good to know how you did it if you make it. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]GhostShadow_FPS 0 points1 point2 points 2 hours ago (0 children) did you try to publish your game in other stores? while this situation is resolving * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply [-]IlFanteDiDenari [score hidden] 43 minutes ago (0 children) good luck with that, if the game is actually good and you think it's a good product you are better off making a website and a launcher so people can play it, legal solution are not something a small studio should worry about, you don't have the budget and to be honest the centuries of time to do some progress. Plus Steam take a hige cut of yout profits so to be honesr, fuck em. * permalink * embed * save * report * give award * reply * about * blog * about * advertising * careers * help * site rules * Reddit help center * reddiquette * mod guidelines * contact us * apps & tools * Reddit for iPhone * Reddit for Android * mobile website * <3 * reddit premium * reddit coins Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. (c) 2023 reddit inc. All rights reserved. REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc. Advertise - technology [pixel] p Rendered by PID 51 on reddit-service-r2-loggedout-6545bd7cff-7txck at 2023-05-30 23:02:42.021156+00:00 running d361da8 country code: US.