Valve Pulls ‘Adult Only’ Games From Steam as It Tightens Rules to Appease Payment Partners

Valve is tightening its guidelines around ‘adult only’ content to satisfy rules set by Steam’s payment processing partners, with dozens of sexually explicit games removed from the platform throughout the week.

As spotted by GameSpark and shared by Automaton, SteamDB logs show a flurry of activity behind the scenes as Steam updated its ‘Rules and Guidelines’ policy, making it clear that publishing “certain kinds” of adult-only content could violate them.

The newly added clause 15 of the policy now explicitly states “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” shouldn’t be posted on Steam.

The X / Twitter account for SteamDB revealed a long list of pornographic games recently delisted from Steam.

https://twitter.com/SteamDB/status/1945410075838804212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It follows a public outcry earlier this year when UK technology secretary Peter Kyle slammed Steam for hosting a sexually explicit visual novel in which the protagonist engaged in non-consensual sexual contact, including rape and incest. Developer Zerat Games eventually announced it would voluntarily withdraw the visual novel after it was removed from sale in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

However, Valve’s new guidelines were criticized by some who have expressed concern over censorship and the vagueness of Valve’s language around its rules.

Earlier today, we reported on Valve co-founder and boss Gabe Newell, who offered a rare insight into his days living, working, and enjoying life on a superyacht he calls a “boat.”

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.