Players on Steam have noticed that their wishlist has suddenly changed. This is due to a new law that has come into effect.
What is happening with the wishlists? Several users have noticed: Games on their Steam wishlist are disappearing or being partially hidden. On Reddit, those who have noticed this have spoken up. Among them are two German posts – and this is no coincidence.
Because the current phenomenon of games disappearing from Steam is related to a German law that has been in effect since November 15, 2024.
On Steam, there are quirky titles, such as Supermarket Together, with MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen relaxing from everyday life. Here you can see the trailer:
Age rating is mandatory
What does the law state? In spring 2024, it was announced on Steam, and now the regulation has come into effect: All games offered on the platform must have an age rating starting from November 15, 2024.
A game receives this either through a USK assessment or through Steam’s integrated rating system itself. In the latter case, developers must answer a detailed questionnaire. This can identify sensitive content. According to Steam, community feedback also plays a role in the rating.
Only once a game undergoes the assessment and receives an age rating, is it allowed to be sold in Germany on the Steam store – which, by the way, does not mean that it belongs to you forever.
The regulation applies not only to new games but also to old ones. However, developers can also retroactively request ratings – and must do so if they want to remain in the German store.
This explains the disappearance of some titles that have not yet undergone any assessment.
According to Steam, around 23,000 games are still unassessed. Some of them were probably on the wishlists of the Reddit users and have disappeared for this reason.
What do the players say about this? On Reddit, users are informing about the new law. However, some also make jokes: “Welcome to Germany,” summarizes killmissy the situation.
Valve has early on, as early as March 2024, drawn attention to the upcoming law. The company is urging developers to contact them via the questionnaire and to obtain the rating. Therefore, it is possible that some of the disappeared games will reappear on Steam. A user recently made an interesting discovery: After 18 years, a gamer discovered that Steam still saves his save files from Half Life 2
