Valve’s confusing Steam policy is about Flappy Bird, not bigotry

A fact I think about a lot is that the human brain runs on about 20 watts of power. That’s a tiny number for such a capable computational processor, but your brain makes due with that supply through the use of tricks and shortcuts. An example of this is that it will make predictions based on your past experiences to fill in gaps around events or text. This is why public relations and communications professionals have jobs. They know that if a public figure or a corporation makes a statement that leaves any opportunity for interpretation, someone will misinterpret it in the least charitable way.

On Wednesday, Valve Software posted a blog about its Steam Direct policy that is so vague that it has forced anyone who has read it to fill in the gaps. Longtime Valve employee and senior engineer Erik Johnson wrote the post titled “Who Gets To Be On The Steam Store?,” and it is ostensibly a more detailed explanation of the Steam Direct policy the company first announced in February 2017. It’s also a response to criticism of the company for suddenly threatening to remove sexual anime-style visual novels from its store after previously committing to not decide what people can purchase and create for the Steam Store.