The Invisible Arbiters: How Payment Processors Became Gaming’s Unexpected Censors
What if the content you see in digital storefronts isn’t decided by developers, platforms, or even players—but by your credit card company? In July 2024, the PC gaming world was shaken when Valve’s Steam and the indie haven Itch.io abruptly erased thousands of games, primarily adult and NSFW titles, sparking outrage and confusion. While an Australian conservative group quickly claimed credit, evidence points towards financial giants—Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal—as the true architects of this unprecedented wave of video game censorship. This massive removal, impacting over 20,000 titles on Itch.io alone, marked a dangerous precedent: the outsourcing of artistic judgment to payment processors, fundamentally shifting the balance of power and chilling creative expression in digital spaces when marginalized voices need it most.
The Australian Smoke Screen: Distraction from the Real Power Players
The narrative spun by the Australian activist group falls apart under scrutiny. Their campaign against the widely disliked “edgelord simulator” No Mercy succeeded in April 2024, likely catching the attention of payment processors auditing the PC gaming space. However, claiming responsibility for Steam’s July 16th rule change—banning content violating “the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors”—lacks credibility.
- Flawed Evidence: The group cited just 1,067 emails and an open letter to financial institutions. Given the scale of companies like Visa and Mastercard (processing billions of transactions daily), this volume is negligible noise, insufficient to drive sweeping policy shifts impacting a multi-billion dollar industry.
- Shifting Blame: Following widespread backlash and media scrutiny across the industry, every entity involved began a blame-shifting dance. Valve pointed to Mastercard. Mastercard claimed mere legal compliance. PayPal deferred to others. Tellingly, the Australian group distanced itself from the significantly larger Itch.io delistings while still trying to leverage the Steam removals for momentum.
- The Reality: The group likely anticipated the payment processors’ reviews and opportunistically took credit, inserting themselves into the narrative. As Jessica Conditt and the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) argue, focusing ire on this group is counterproductive. The true power—and culpability—lies with the financial institutions wielding their leverage to dictate content.
Payment Processors: The New Gatekeepers of Digital Expression
While Valve has long curated Steam based on its own policies (mislabeling, hate speech, legality), the critical shift occurred with the explicit outsourcing of censorship to payment partners. This July 16th clause handed Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal an extraordinary, dangerous veto power over content on the world’s largest PC gaming platform.
- The Ripple Effect: Itch.io, facing similar pressure, took an even more drastic step on July 24th: deindexing all adult and NSFW games—approx. 20,000 titles—effectively hiding them. This wasn’t selective curation; it was a scorched-earth response to comply with payment processor demands.
- The Power Imbalance: Platforms like Steam and Itch.io are critically dependent on major payment gateways to facilitate transactions. The threat of losing access to Visa or Mastercard—effectively cutting off revenue—forced their hand. These financial giants hold immense, unchecked power with minimal transparency about their standards or enforcement processes.
- A Precedent of Control: This incident echoes broader concerns about “financial surveillance capitalism,” where banks and payment processors act as de facto moral police, restricting legal commerce based on subjective standards. (Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation – Financial Censorship).
Payment Processor Influence Table:
| Processor | Known Stance (Based on Evidence) | Impact on Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Mastercard | Cited by Valve as key driver. Cited legal compliance. | Explicitly named in Steam policy change trigger. |
| Visa | Targeted by Australian campaign. Stance implied via Steam rule. | Implicitly covered by Steam policy. Major leverage holder. |
| PayPal | Claimed to follow partner requirements (like Mastercard). | Secondary enforcement layer, but critical for many transactions. |
| Stripe (Itch.io) | Announced ban on processing for games “designed for sexual gratification”. | Forced Itch.io’s mass deindexing of paid NSFW titles. |
Chillingly, this newfound power easily accommodates the narratives pushed by groups ideologically opposed to sexual freedom, queer expression, and sex work rights. The uncontested alignment between conservative moral crusaders and powerful financial entities weaponizing “compliance” arrives during a global surge of attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedom, and diverse artistic expression. Censoring subversive and sexual content now directly targets vulnerable creators and communities when their voices are most essential—and under threat.
Beyond the Censorship Scandal: Key Gaming News
Alongside the censorship upheaval, several other significant stories emerged:
- BioShock 4’s Troubled Development: According to Bloomberg reporting, BioShock 4 (under development at Cloud Chamber since 2019) failed a major review by publisher 2K Games. The result? A significant narrative overhaul, departure of studio head Kelley Gilmore, and reassignment of creative director Hogarth de la Plante. Adding to the Rapture blues, Bloomberg also reported the cancellation of a planned BioShock 1 remake. Original creator Ken Levine continues work on his narrative-driven FPS Judas at Ghost Story Games.
- GOG’s Protest Against Censorship: In direct response to the Steam and Itch.io removals, CD Projekt’s GOG platform took a stand. From August 1-3, they partnered with developers to offer 13 games featuring adult, queer, or violent themes for free. This protest move distributed over 1 million free games, demonstrating solidarity and providing a secure outlet for potentially targeted content. (Source: GOG.com News).
- Itch.io’s Partial Retreat: Following the backlash against deindexing 20,000 games, Itch.io on August 1st began relisting free NSFW games while continuing audits on its entire adult catalog. The future of paid adult games on Itch.io remains uncertain, especially after payment partner Stripe’s specific ban, though the platform suggests “room for negotiation.”
- Sony Sues Tencent for “Slavish Clone”: Over a year after its reveal sparked immediate comparisons to Guerrilla Games’ Horizon series, Tencent-owned Polaris Quest’s Light of Motiram faces a major lawsuit. Sony vigorously asserts the game is a blatant, illegal copy of Horizon’s distinctive art, design, and world. This case highlights the global tensions surrounding IP protection and cloning in mobile gaming markets.
- Raven Software Ratifies Union Contract: Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard (completed October 2023), the Raven Software union (formed under ABK) has successfully ratified its first contract with Microsoft. This landmark achievement, coming after three years of effort and amidst widespread industry layoffs, establishes crucial precedents for worker rights in AAA game development. (Source: Communications Workers of America).
- VILE: Exhumed Finds Freedom: A clear casualty of Steam’s chaotic enforcement was the acclaimed psychological horror game VILE: Exhumed. Wrongly targeted and banned, developer Cara Cadaver and publisher DreadXP bypassed traditional stores entirely. The game is now available via direct download on their website, adopting a pay-what-you-want model (starting at $0), with proceeds supporting the Red Door Family Shelter charity. It serves as both vital LGBTQ+ art and a defiant symbol.
- Global Age Verification Spreads: Complying with the UK’s Online Safety Act, Microsoft announced new age verification methods coming first to Xbox in the UK. Crucially, Microsoft intends to roll out these systems globally, using the UK implementation as a test bed. This signifies increasing regulatory pressure impacting gaming platform design worldwide.
- Battlefield 6 Confirmed: EA officially revealed an October 10th release date for Battlefield 6, simultaneously fulfilling the world’s least surprising prophecy by confirming it would include multiplayer.
Conclusion: Defiance and Vigilance in a New Era of Control
The mass removal of games from Steam and Itch.io wasn’t a victory for fringe activists, but a stark revelation of vulnerability. Unaccountable financial institutions now hold unprecedented power to shape the boundaries of digital expression within gaming, indirectly empowering regressive ideologies. While pushback emerges—from GOG’s protest giveaway to Itch.io’s partial reversal and defiant moves like VILE: Exhumed‘s direct distribution—the precedent is set. The fight for artistic freedom increasingly intersects with economic gatekeeping. Creators and players must remain vigilant, demanding transparency from payment processors and platforms alike, and supporting distribution channels that champion creative liberty. The library of accessible gaming just got smaller; now is the time to decide whose standards define what’s left on the digital shelf. Where do you stand on the role of payment processors in regulating game content?
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Original article at www.engadget.com
