Steam receives pressure from payment processors -- pulls adult games with incest/rape

[The Dark Moonshine]

Well,if you don’t pass verification, they should notice it long ago, if the verification still up then it still had a chance, so good luck

Thank you!

 

[alonehentain]

Well, we got master card response about this:

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First time got pressured ? Master card

 

[alonehentain]

NejicomiSimulator Vol.1 got delisted

 

[suprisedcrankyface]

Like in clockwork...

It was a wall of text (as you yourself said)... that I proceeded to respond too (even read your linked article). I didn't go point by point because I didn't want to blow the thread out to a post a page but I did address most of your core arguments.

 

[alonehentain]

Three games got straight banned today ? Maybe

 

[SonsOfLiberty]

Mastercard Denies It Pressured Steam, Itch.io to Delist Adult Games

Mastercard has issued a statement claiming is has "not required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms", despite allegations from both Steam and itch.io to the contrary.

Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations.

Our payment network follows standards based on the rule of law. Put simply, we allow all lawful purchases on our network. At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.

Mastercard's statement comes in response to recent actions from both Steam and itch.io to remove or restrict adult content on the storefronts. Earlier in July, Steam removed numerous "adults only" games from its platform, largely ones

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. It also added a new guideline to its policy, stating that "content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks, or internet network providers" would not be permitted.

This was followed up with a

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just over a week ago, when it "deindexed" thousands of NSFW games from its browse and search pages.

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, itch.io said it had recently "came under scrutiny from our payment processors" following pressure from organization Collective Shout regarding certain adult games. In the days since, itch.io has said it is conducting a "comprehensive audit" of its content to ensure it can meet payment processor requirements. Just last night, the storefront re-indexed free adult NSFW content, stating it would be "re-introducing paid content slowly" and was in ongoing discussions with payment processors.
In the same post, itch.io shared a statement from payment processor Stripe, which passed the buck another step further to banking partners while confirming it would not be able to support adult content that is "designed for sexual gratification."

Stripe is currently unable to support sexually explicit content due to restrictions placed on them by their banking partners, despite card networks generally supporting adult content (with the appropriate registrations). Stripe has indicated that they hope to be able to support adult content in the future.

Collective Shout is a non-profit group that purports to fight against "the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls in media, advertising, and pop culture." Its campaign against video game platforms is allegedly an effort to pressure processors to stop allowing payments for "rape and incest" games. However,

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that the refusal of payment processors to allow people to purchase such content freely amounts to censorship - porn, after all, isn't illegal. What's more, it seems to be causing games that don't fit Collective Shout's objectives to be impacted as well, such as games that artfully explore trauma, assault, and other heavy topics or those that attempt to raise awareness of issues, such as sex trafficking. Others have expressed fears that this is a slippery slope that could lead to stricter and stricter definitions of forbidden "adult" content, potentially resulting in censorship of LGBTQ+ games.

In the wake of these decisions, many have joined a campaign to put pressure on payment processors such as Mastercard to reverse their decision.

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, grassroots groups are attempting to bombard customer support centers for Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and PayPal with phone calls demanding the companies to back off. Thus far, the effect this effort has had has been largely anecdotal, with some reporting irritated call center workers stating they had already heard from many people on the subject. Mastercard's statement today is the first indication that the pressure might be having a real impact, and has emboldened the community to continue to protest in hopes of tipping the scales.
Meanwhile,

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it's seeking out new payment processors who are more comfortable with adult material. Valve has yet to comment publicly on the situation on Steam.

Updated: 8/1/2025 4:18 p.m. ET: In a statement to Kotaku, a spokesperson for Valve said that while Mastercard did not communicate with it directly, concerns did come through payment processor and banking intermediaries. They said payment processors rejected Valve’s current guidelines for moderating illegal content on Steam, citing Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7.

“Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so,” Valve’s statement sent over email to Kotaku reads. “Mastercard communicated with payment processors and their acquiring banks. Payment processors communicated this with Valve, and we replied by outlining Steam’s policy since 2018 of attempting to distribute games that are legal for distribution. Payment processors rejected this, and specifically cited Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7 and risk to the Mastercard brand.”

Rule 5.12.7 states, “A Merchant must not submit to its Acquirer, and a Customer must not submit to the Interchange System, any Transaction that is illegal, or in the sole discretion of the Corporation, may damage the goodwill of the Corporation or reflect negatively on the Marks.”

It goes on, “The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.”

Violations of rule 5.12.7 can result in fines, audits, or companies being dropped by the payment processors.

 

[Asukaki]

GoG is launching a campaign to raise awareness with 13 mature games (yes, sex explicit games like Lust Theory, Being a Dik and Treasure of Nadia) for free for 48 hrs.

*Be aware that claiming one, will put all 13 games into your account so, be careful.

You must be registered to see the links

List of games:

 

[Simon248]

View attachment 5101243

Mastercard Denies It Pressured Steam, Itch.io to Delist Adult Games





Updated: 8/1/2025 4:18 p.m. ET: In a statement to Kotaku, a spokesperson for Valve said that while Mastercard did not communicate with it directly, concerns did come through payment processor and banking intermediaries. They said payment processors rejected Valve’s current guidelines for moderating illegal content on Steam, citing Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7.

“Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so,” Valve’s statement sent over email to Kotaku reads. “Mastercard communicated with payment processors and their acquiring banks. Payment processors communicated this with Valve, and we replied by outlining Steam’s policy since 2018 of attempting to distribute games that are legal for distribution. Payment processors rejected this, and specifically cited Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7 and risk to the Mastercard brand.”

Rule 5.12.7 states, “A Merchant must not submit to its Acquirer, and a Customer must not submit to the Interchange System, any Transaction that is illegal, or in the sole discretion of the Corporation, may damage the goodwill of the Corporation or reflect negatively on the Marks.”

It goes on, “The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.”

Violations of rule 5.12.7 can result in fines, audits, or companies being dropped by the payment processors.

View attachment 5101243

How it feels like right now.

 

[BladesOfSteele]

Mastercard Denies It Pressured Steam, Itch.io to Delist Adult Games





Updated: 8/1/2025 4:18 p.m. ET: In a statement to Kotaku, a spokesperson for Valve said that while Mastercard did not communicate with it directly, concerns did come through payment processor and banking intermediaries. They said payment processors rejected Valve’s current guidelines for moderating illegal content on Steam, citing Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7.

“Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so,” Valve’s statement sent over email to Kotaku reads. “Mastercard communicated with payment processors and their acquiring banks. Payment processors communicated this with Valve, and we replied by outlining Steam’s policy since 2018 of attempting to distribute games that are legal for distribution. Payment processors rejected this, and specifically cited Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7 and risk to the Mastercard brand.”

Rule 5.12.7 states, “A Merchant must not submit to its Acquirer, and a Customer must not submit to the Interchange System, any Transaction that is illegal, or in the sole discretion of the Corporation, may damage the goodwill of the Corporation or reflect negatively on the Marks.”

It goes on, “The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.”

Violations of rule 5.12.7 can result in fines, audits, or companies being dropped by the payment processors.

Typical weasel words. They admit it while not admitting it with this part

Our payment network follows standards based on the rule of law. Put simply, we allow all lawful purchases on our network. At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.

put simply, they pass this on to imply those things, by order of law, are considered illegal, and so its not their fault.

 

[alonehentain]

put simply, they pass this on to imply those things, by order of law, are considered illegal, and so its not their fault.

They know that each country had its own law right, simple solution is region lock those consider this illegal, poor excuse

 

[BladesOfSteele]

They know that each country had its own law right, simple solution is region lock those consider this illegal, poor excuse

They are US financial companies and the main pillar of transaction in the world, and don't consider anything beyond the main ruler of the world economy, the US, as being anything they need to be marginally concerned about at all. Pretty much anybody knows that if the US rules against something, most of the world needs to follow that directive, or you become North Korea at best, or a freshly "liberated" country ''at best''.

 

[ArkasHarrok]

It goes on, “The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.”

Violations of rule 5.12.7 can result in fines, audits, or companies being dropped by the payment processors.

This is worded in such a way that it gives them the ability to deny their services based on their own personal decisions. In a sense I can see why you'd want something similar to it because you can reasonably suspect illegal activity and want a legal way to just deny it without getting the law or government involved. However, that is expecting a good-faith use of such a clause.

In this day and age they should not be allowed to do this given the size of their company. That's way too much control for one company to have. The fact they are payment processors (they're not even banks that have money) and can essentially block or stop payments means they can damage people's income and the economy if they choose to. Obviously they're not stupid enough to mess with organizations bigger than themselves or the government, but this kind of exertion of control is a dangerous slope. With how they're positioned as the main infrastructure for how money is moved and processed it means they shouldn't be able to make arbitrary decisions in favor of their personal viewpoints or agendas. (Clarification: I know they're not the only way money moves, but between Visa and Mastercard they are the majority. They're not officially the main way money is transferred/moved, but they effectively are by being the majority.)

This has been a problem for a while. It started out small and now more people are trying to push their power to see how far it really goes. I'm all in favor of dismantling them entirely for something new if they don't change. Throw the old founders out, rip everything up, and insert a better regulated system. It'd be a nightmare to actually do, but I'd rather see it all crash and burn than let anyone have that much control.

 

[Simon248]

or you become North Korea at best, or a freshly "liberated" country ''at best''.

All I am going to say is that the Government has been lying for a looooooong time.

About super basic things as well, easily verifiable truths.

Which was only possible by conditioning the public into certain trains of thoughts and poisoning/drugging them into a drunken stupor.

 

[pencilfight]

It goes on, “The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.”

Violations of rule 5.12.7 can result in fines, audits, or companies being dropped by the payment processors.

Weird how these rules never seem to apply to films filled with violence, sex, and/or rape

You can make a dozen Saw films no problemo but make one little game about porking your sister and everyone loses their minds

 

[Redboi8]

Weird how these rules never seem to apply to films filled with violence, sex, and/or rape

Yet...

 

[Readerf2b]

Yeah, remeber we believed that free market and private companies would not be as dictatorial judgmental and censoring as a government?
Well, at least you choose your government. You cant choose board of directors and owners...

 

[Readerf2b]

They are US financial companies and the main pillar of transaction in the world, and don't consider anything beyond the main ruler of the world economy, the US, as being anything they need to be marginally concerned about at all. Pretty much anybody knows that if the US rules against something, most of the world needs to follow that directive, or you become North Korea at best, or a freshly "liberated" country ''at best''.

Was true back in a day, no longer.

 

[Readerf2b]

GoG is launching a campaign to raise awareness with 13 mature games (yes, sex explicit games like Lust Theory, Being a Dik and Treasure of Nadia) for free for 48 hrs.

*Be aware that claiming one, will put all 13 games into your account so, be careful.

View attachment 5101218

You must be registered to see the links

List of games:
View attachment 5101227

Yeah, well, its so vanilla im sure you can play it with you grandma in same room/

 

[Alredel-SilentMajority]

Yeah, remeber we believed that free market and private companies would not be as dictatorial judgmental and censoring as a government?
Well, at least you choose your government. You cant choose board of directors and owners...

Sure you can't, but we can still put pressure on those companies.

 

[Readerf2b]

Sure you can't, but we can still put pressure on those companies.

By what? using russian MIR or whatever china has? Not for porn sure.