@gamingonlinux ah, those are there so they can lever in their own network/marketing channel in the future. It's nasty and obvious if you add a launcher just to add ads for your next game or DLC or etc, but if you have a blank there, OOPS SORRY we're just patching it you know.
I kinda wonder if they're required by the publisher at his point, since they're functionally the publisher's marketing channel, not the developer's.