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.

https://twitter.com/MastercardNews/status/1951280013799510020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In a post on Twitter/X today, Mastercard said the following:

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 that included sexually explicit content. 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 similar move from itch.io just over a week ago, when it “deindexed” thousands of NSFW games from its browse and search pages. In a statement, 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, game developers are claiming 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. As Aftermath reports, 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, itch.io has stated 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.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.