The Great Adult Game Purge: Who's Holding the Magic Wand, and Why Is Everyone Pointing Fingers?
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Mastercard denies influencing the recent adult game removals from Steam and Itch.io, but Valve points the finger right back at them, claiming payment processors cited a vague Mastercard rule about 'goodwill' damage. It's a messy corporate blame game that's swept up perfectly legal games, forcing storefronts like Itch.io to bravely seek out new, less restrictive payment options.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're watching a really intense blame-game match, and everyone's dodging the ball like it's got a cursed hex on it? That's pretty much what's been going on with the whole adult/NSFW game kerfuffle that hit Steam and Itch.io recently. Publishers pulling games, players scratching their heads, and big corporations doing their best impression of a 'nothing to see here' wizard disappearing act. It's a proper digital whodunit, mate, and I've been tinkering with the bits and bytes of this story all morning.
First off, we've got financial leviathan Mastercard stepping onto the digital stage, sounding all innocent. They put out a statement that was brief, unequivocal, and frankly, a bit too tidy. They denied, outright, that they'd sought to influence the recent removal of adult games. Their exact words were that they 'have not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms,' and that they happily allow all lawful transactions. Sounds fair dinkum, right? Like a benevolent digital overlord, simply facilitating the flow of ones and zeroes without a care in the world for what's being bought or sold, as long as it's above board.
But here's where the plot thickens, like a potion that's had a few too many random ingredients tossed in. Valve, the wizards behind Steam, have since gently – but firmly – suggested that Mastercard's statement might be, shall we say, a *tad* short of the full truth. They spilled the beans to PC Gamer, claiming that Steam's very own payment processors started kicking up a fuss about these perfectly legal adult games. And guess what magic rule they cited? None other than one of Mastercard's very specific dictates: Rule 5.12.7.
Now, Rule 5.12.7 sounds like something you'd find buried deep in an ancient, dusty tome of corporate spells. It's one of hundreds governing what Mastercard's customers, their merchant partners, and these 'service providers' (the folks who actually handle your card payments using Mastercard's network) can and can't do. The juicy bit, the real mind-bender, is that it forbids 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.'
Did you catch that? 'Damage the goodwill' or 'reflect negatively on the Marks.' It's like a catch-all spell that lets them banish anything they simply don't *like*, even if it's completely legal. So, a game doesn't need to be breaking a single law for its sale to suddenly become a 'problem' under Mastercard's vast, invisible umbrella of 'goodwill.' And Valve's contention is that this vague, all-encompassing rule is precisely what allowed payment processors – perhaps, Valve implies, under a subtle nod from Mastercard itself – to push for these removals. It's like they're saying, 'We didn't directly cast the banishing spell, but we *did* give the guy who cast it the wand, and he was using our spellbook!'
Valve even outlined the rather convoluted communication chain: 'Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so,' they explained. '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.' See? It’s a game of telephone, but with incredibly high stakes for game developers and players.
This whole fiasco is just another chapter in the ongoing saga of finger-pointing that began when Steam and Itch.io started culling adult content last month. And it wasn't just the overtly sexual stuff that got caught in the crossfire; many non-sexual games, especially those with LGBTQ+ themes, found themselves unexpectedly banished to the digital ether. It's a truly chaotic situation, the kind that makes you wonder if someone accidentally spilled a truth serum on the corporate PR department, and they're all just awkwardly deflecting.
Other payment firms haven't been any keener to take the blame, either. Stripe, one of the processors that pressured Itch.io, also played the 'it wasn't us' card, claiming they were acting under restrictions imposed by unnamed banking partners. It’s like a digital version of those old cartoon chase scenes, where everyone's running but no one knows who's chasing whom.
So, in this grand game of corporate pass-the-parcel, who's actually holding the bag? Well, rather miserably, the only organisation to have readily claimed responsibility is a religious-backed activist group called Collective Shout. They're probably chuffed to bits that this whole thing went better than their previous, rather pathetic attempts at misinformation-led game bans. It just goes to show you sometimes the smallest, loudest voice can inadvertently nudge the biggest entities.
In the end, and perhaps inevitably, Valve folded, which is a bit of a bummer. But there's a glimmer of cautious optimism, a small ray of sunshine breaking through the digital clouds: Itch.io, bless their independent hearts, have at least relisted numerous free games that were previously removed. More importantly, they’re actively searching for alternative payment processors who aren’t so restrictive about handling transactions for paid games. It’s a bold move, like a plucky indie dev looking for a new engine after their old one turned out to be a bit... cursed.
This whole affair highlights a broader issue: the immense, often unseen, power that payment processors and their corporate rulebooks wield over digital storefronts. It's a reminder that even in our seemingly open digital worlds, there are invisible strings being pulled, sometimes by entities far removed from the actual games we play. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? What other 'goodwill' rules are lurking out there, waiting to unexpectedly reshape our gaming landscapes? It's definitely something to keep an eye on, mate, because the magic of gaming should be for everyone, without some corporate spellbook deciding what's 'good' for us.
Tags: Gaming Industry, Censorship, Valve, Mastercard, Game Development
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun