A wave of removals hit the Steam Store, recently, as Valve revealed certain types of video games would no longer be sold on their storefront. A glance at SteamDB shows that the affected games are of a very particular variety featuring adult content. Valve issued a statement on the delistings, explaining that they were due to potential violations with "payment processors", and in order to continue taking payments for non-adult content, they would be removing those title that do not meet "rules and standards" put forth by companies such as Mastercard, PayPal, etc.

We were recently notified that certain games on Steam may violate the rules and standards set forth by our payment processors and their related card networks and banks. As a result, we are retiring those games from being sold on the Steam Store, because loss of payment methods would prevent customers from being able to purchase other titles and game content on Steam.

We are directly notifying developers of these games, and issuing app credits should they have another game they’d like to distribute on Steam in the future.

While all of the affected games are of a controversial variety, it has unnerved some, as the newly implemented "rules and standards" that led to the delisting of these titles is vague.

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. In particular, certain kinds of adult only content.

Source

 

[Moe87]

Not only does Nintendo release about 50% shovelware, they charge full price for it too. Scarlet/Violet, ARMS, Princess Peach Showtime, the list goes on and on. They haven't released a good Mario sports game since Gamecube, or a good sports game in general since Wii. Bananza is a certified banger along with the other 50% of Nintendo releases, but if not for Retro Studios and FromSoft padding out the year one lineup, I wouldn't have bothered buying a Switch 2 at all.

Activision used to make a lot of extreme sport games back in 2000s but not anymore, also EA don't make crazy sport games like SSX anymore, even ended Skate after Skate 3. I feel that Skate 4 wouldn't be same.

 

[Deleted member 753700]

I'm skeptical that this is actually protecting anyone

Because you lack the understanding of how gender based violence is built in society.

We can’t let porn ruin our minds or are we going to remember what sex is about?

I have no issues with sex and being open about it but porn isn’t sex - objectification, rape, and incest are certainly not part of society.

 

[Xzi]

Because you lack the understanding of how gender based violence is built in society.

View attachment 517744

If you're unable to separate fiction from reality, that's a you problem. Now, if you want to campaign against rape and incest themes/role playing in real pornography, more power to ya, but wasting that energy and effort campaigning against drawings is not actually helping anybody IRL.

 

[Deleted member 753700]

If you're unable to separate fiction from reality, that's a you problem. Now, if you want to campaign against rape and incest themes/role playing in real pornography, more power to ya, but wasting that energy and effort campaigning against drawings is not actually helping anybody IRL

Bro just straight outing himself… yikes

 

[Xzi]

Bro just straight outing himself

I watch my mostly-vanilla porn on the internet for free, TYVM, not gonna waste space in my Steam library with gooner shovelware. Neither am I going to pretend to be offended by it, however, because nobody actually is. The drawings can't hurt you, no matter how fragile your psyche might be.

 

[Deleted member 753700]

I watch my mostly-vanilla porn on the internet for free, TYVM, not gonna waste space in my Steam library with gooner shovelware. Neither am I going to pretend to be offended by it, however, because nobody actually is.

I can tell, porn is misogyny after all

 

[Xzi]

I can tell, porn is misogyny after all

If that's truly your stance, then you should be all in favor of hentai. The real-life porn industry is indeed exploitative and cruel, but nobody is victimized by drawings that an artist was paid for.

 

[yankii]

If that's truly your stance, then you should be all in favor of hentai. The real-life porn industry is indeed exploitative and cruel, but nobody is victimized by drawings that an artist was paid for.

IDK about porn but animators, globally, are criminally underpaid and very overworked; hentai has its victims.

I can tell, porn is misogyny after all

But I watch porn with only guys in it

 

[kingaz]

Because you lack the understanding of how gender based violence is built in society.

We can’t let porn ruin our minds or are we going to remember what sex is about?

I have no issues with sex and being open about it but porn isn’t sex - objectification, rape, and incest are certainly not part of society.

This understanding you put forth is quite axiomatic in its reasoning. It is a given for you that there is a causal link between some crappy 3D models performing a crude simulacrum of behaviors well outside the normative bounds of society, and actual instances of the most heinous violence and abuse one human being can inflict upon another.

I'm... skeptical.

Now, am I sad that they're gone from steam? Absolutely not. Heck, I'd be thrilled with a wider purge; they gunk up the steam key giveaway site I frequent, and I keep having to hide them one crappy "game" at a time. But the fact that the ban affects a small smattering of low-effort garbage with the most shocking subject matter signals to me that this is somewhat performative. Even under the premises of your model of gender based violence, these are easy targets of negligible import, with most people only hearing of them in the context of this ban.

 

[Deleted member 753700]

But I watch porn with only guys in it

At the end of the day it’s still ENTERTAINMENT not sex - people take behaviour they see online into the bedroom and people become normalised to more extreme acts.

Take example, slapping, many people attest to be being slaped without consent. Now where do we think people learned this behaviour? Was it the porn they consumed at a young age now shaping how they view it as an adult?

These questions need addressing so people are protected. We can’t blame victims. We must protect them.

 

[kingaz]

who do I believe!? Female victims of violence championing their voice or a random on the internet forum? Like what. Bro never heard of normalisation.

Do you get all of your ideas predigested from outside sources, or are you capable of thinking for yourself?

Because it shouldn't be all that mystifying to read that the idea that some crappy 3D animations no one heard of before the article talking about their purge from steam are somehow contributing to the normalization of gender-based violence in any meaningful way seems... farfetched.

 

[Captain-Z]

"Everyone who disagrees with me is a bigot!" A guide to Internet discourse.

I'm pretty sure criticizing any identifiable group for baseless stereotypes counts as bigotry no matter where you're talking.

 

[Deleted member 753700]

Because it shouldn't be all that mystifying to read that the idea that some crappy 3D animations no one heard of before the article talking about their purge from steam are somehow contributing to the normalization of gender-based violence in any meaningful way seems... farfetched.

this is the privilege of being a man my friend

 

[kingaz]

I'm pretty sure criticizing any identifiable group for baseless stereotypes counts as bigotry no matter where you're talking.

It isn't baseless if it's true.

this is the privilege of being a man my friend

Not really. Arguing "everyone who disagrees with me is perpetuating gender based violence" is the dishonest refuge of the grifter looking to leverage feminism for money, clout, or a sense of power.

 

[samcambolt270]

who is ur pfp

Peanutbuttergamer aka peebs

 

[Garuda357]

This payment processor stuff against storefronts already started in Japan since a while now and it is suspected to be the reason why Nintendo had to change their own policies regarding what can be in their eshop, how they will handle payment processors in the future and what drove them to release a japanese only system. Games that were meant to release in the west never did for a while now because the approval never came which was surprising since those companies were releasing without issues not so much time ago. Thing is when it was pointed out to be related to what was going on in japanese stores in general it was called a conspiracy by many and sidelined. Sure it is easy to just not pay it any mind right now when it is still against "slop" on the west but these people are already suspecting other more mainstream games under the same arguments.

An easy example: in GTA games there have been cases of female sex workers as a game mechanic. They serve the purpose of increasing HP beyond the natural limits for a price but as per how these games work you can kill them after the fact and get your money back. Even popular games like those have elements that fit in what those people are against and I assure you any GTA game is easier to land in the hands of kids than whatever "slop" they are going on against right now.

It's been said already but it is an issue that goes beyond what most are willing to consider, it only looks bad to antagonize right now because the nature of what got delisted recently. It goes past the argument of real issues vs fictional issues, because both sides have their correct arguments on the matter and actual laws (made to address each society they belong to and their needs) should be used to solve them but at the end of it payment processors (which are just public companies looking for the highest profits) are just getting more power to censor elements that do not fit any particular agenda on any given time, today is just "slop".

 

[nmagod]

I wish Epic would follow suit and get rid of all their crypto slop, but that's like 99% of the list so it wouldn't work.

 

[Xzi]

animators, globally, are criminally underpaid and very overworked

I was more referring to the solo and small indie developers/artists on Steam, but true enough.

 

[NinStar]

Murder is illegal in most places as well, therefore Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Wolfenstein should all be delisted from Steam as well

The person I was replying to mentioned that they shouldn't do that unless it was something illegal, so I pointed out that those games fall under that definition.

Also, I directly addressed this type of binary stance in my subsequent message.

 

[Lumpofcoal]

I'm not for or against it in particular but I do wonder if double standards are being involved here.

AFAIK, there are still plenty of porn sites (actual human porn and not cartoon ones) that use those payment processors and they don't seem to have any issue with them.

So they only go after those that are high profile but happily continue to do business with those that keep it on the low?

On a more concerning note, this might be a way for interest groups to censor gaming platforms indirectly. Who knows one day the likes of GTA could no longer be sold due to concerns about "gratuitous violence" from PTA groups complaining to mastercard/visa/etc.