How Visa, Mastercard, and activist groups orchestrated a coordinated assault on digital freedom through financial deplatforming

The Tipping Point

In July 2025, the gaming world witnessed an unprecedented assault on creative freedom when Steam updated its publisher guidelines to prohibit “Content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks”. What followed was swift and devastating: many incest themed games were removed from the store and a large number of games has been removed from the platform in the past 16 hours.

But this wasn’t an isolated incident. Within days, itch.io “deindexed” all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages, affecting thousands of independent creators and developers worldwide. The dominos were falling, and the gaming industry was experiencing its most significant censorship crisis in decades.

The Orchestrated Campaign: How Collective Shout Changed Everything

The catalyst for this digital book burning can be traced to an organization called Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms. Founded by self-described “pro-life feminist” Melinda Tankard Reist, Collective Shout describes itself as fighting against the objectification of women.

Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organization Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io. The group’s tactics were strategic and effective: rather than engaging with the platforms directly, they bypassed them entirely. “We raised our objection to rpe and incst games on Steam for months, and they ignored us for months. We approached payment processors because Steam did not respond to us”, the organization later admitted.

The campaign’s scope was broader than initially reported. Collective Shout has stated that 1047 people sent emails to these companies about payments on Steam and Itch.io going to games depicting rape and incest. This coordinated email campaign targeted the financial infrastructure that keeps these platforms operational.

Most concerning is the organization’s admission that legality isn’t their primary concern. When asked about the damage Collective Shout was causing to developers who had released their games within the confines of the law, Roper stated, “If Steam and itch.io had been moderating their platforms as they should have, there would have been no need to temporarily delist games to ensure they were not in violation of their policies”.

The Payment Processor Stranglehold

The effectiveness of Collective Shout’s campaign revealed a troubling reality: payment processors wield unprecedented power over digital content. Visa and Mastercard now have the power to veto games on Steam, as evidenced by Valve’s official statement that “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”.

The power dynamics are stark. Additionally, itch.io is a small company, both in team size and in transaction volume, compared to a company like Steam. We have limited ability to “push back.” If we lose our ability to accept payments from a partner like PayPal or Stripe, we impact the ability of all creators to do business.

The Hypocrisy Problem

What makes this situation particularly galling is the apparent inconsistency in enforcement. These same payment processors allowed platforms like OnlyFans to operate with minimal oversight, despite multiple credible reports and lawsuits alleging the presence of real sexual abuse content involving real-life minors. Yet, when it comes to entirely fictional depictions, these same companies act swiftly.

The gaming community has noticed this double standard. As one critic noted, “That is, in fact, an actual legitimate lie” in response to Visa’s claim that “If a transaction is legal, our policy is to process the transaction. We do not make moral judgments on legal purchases made by consumers”.

Steam’s New Restrictions: Beyond Simple Censorship

The crisis deepened when it was revealed that Steam wasn’t just removing existing games but implementing new restrictions on content updates. One adult game developer alleges that they were told NSFW updates are no longer allowed on Steam, specifically that “Valve doesn’t allow post-launch NSFW content for an app that’s already been through their review process”.

This represents a fundamental shift in how platforms approach content moderation. The developer added on Reddit, via Automaton, that this restriction was not in place on the day of launch, but has been added afterwards. Games that had been approved and released were retroactively subject to new restrictions, creating uncertainty for developers who had invested time and resources into ongoing projects.

The workaround offered by Valve is telling: It appears that Valve is still permitting DLC to be released with NSFW content, meaning that studios can at least bundle their free updates into optional packages. This forces developers to monetize content that might otherwise have been free updates, essentially taxing creative freedom.

Importantly, developers report that Crimson Delight stressed that “Valve isn’t the problem here”, directing their frustration to the credit card companies and political groups behind this campaign. The developers acknowledge that “We didn’t feel threatened or bullied in any way, and we got the feeling they were trying to do their best to help devs navigate the process”.

The Global Pattern of Digital Control

This censorship campaign isn’t occurring in isolation. It’s part of a broader global trend toward increased digital surveillance and content control, as detailed in recent analyses of regulatory frameworks worldwide.

Microsoft’s Age Verification Gateway

Microsoft’s implementation of mandatory age verification for Xbox users represents another front in this digital control campaign. As outlined in recent policy analyses, Xbox users in the UK who indicate their account age as 18 and over are now being encouraged to verify their age as part of Microsoft’s compliance with the UK Online Safety Act.

The verification requirements are extensive, demanding Government-issued ID (driver’s license or passport), Facial recognition scans, Credit card verification, Mobile phone verification. Users who refuse face significant restrictions: those who don’t complete this verification will lose access to most social features including voice chat, text communication, game invites, and user-generated content.

Microsoft has made clear this is just the beginning. The company expects “to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future,” though “these methods may look different across regions and experiences”.

The EU’s Digital Compliance Framework

The European Union’s Digital Services Act is being leveraged to enforce similar restrictions across member states. This regulatory framework creates a system where platforms face enormous financial penalties for non-compliance, incentivizing over-censorship to avoid regulatory risks.

The International Precedent

Various video game and manga hosting platforms in Japan have in recent years run into trouble with payment processors and credit card networks. Due to certain content on the platforms going against the (often undisclosed) rules and standards of third parties handling payments, the platforms ended up without support for credit card payment.

This international pattern demonstrates that the current crisis isn’t unique to English-speaking markets but represents a coordinated global effort to control digital content through financial pressure.

The Expanding Scope of Censorship

What began as concerns about specific adult content has rapidly expanded to affect a much broader range of creative expression. users are worried it might affect more than just “certain kinds of adult-only content” as the vague language in platform policies leaves room for expansive interpretation.

Impact on LGBTQ+ Creators

The censorship campaign has disproportionately affected marginalized communities. “Queer content gets flagged as ‘explicit’ even when it’s PG. A trans dev making a personal story? ‘Too controversial.’ A surreal queer VN? ‘Sexualized.’ Financial deplatforming in action”. This concern is well-founded, as Queer content, for instance, is disproportionately affected by censorship measures and could be tagged as “adult” or “NSFW” even when it doesn’t contain anything sexual.

Artistic Expression Under Threat

At first this appeared to be the result of Itch.io’s decision to delist all NSFW games on the platform in response to pressure from credit card companies, but the scope has expanded beyond explicitly adult content. Games that explore mature themes, deal with serious subject matter, or challenge conventional narratives are increasingly at risk.

The Industry Fights Back

The gaming industry hasn’t remained silent in the face of this censorship campaign. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) released a statement Tuesday calling for “greater transparency and fairness in how adult games are moderated and actioned across major platforms”.

The IGDA expressed particular concern about the impact on independent developers, stating they were “alarmed by the vague enforcement of policies delisting and deplatforming legal, consensual, and ethically-developed games, especially from LGBTQ+ and marginalized creators”.

Grassroots Resistance

The gaming community has mobilized in unprecedented ways to fight back against payment processor censorship. A Change.org petition titled “Tell MasterCard, Visa & Activist Groups: Stop Controlling What We Can Watch, Read, or Play” has surpassed 77,000 signatures since launching just days after Valve’s policy change.

Steam users are collectively contacting Visa and other payment processors through official channels, using carefully crafted messages to express their concerns. The coordinated message being sent reads: “I am concerned customer about Visa’s recent efforts to censor adult content on prominent online game retailers, specifically the platforms Steam and Itch.io. As a long-time Visa customer, I see this as a massive overreach into controlling what entirely legal actions/purchases customers are allowed to put their money towards”.

Developer Voices

Prominent industry figures have spoken out against the censorship. Nier creator Yoko Taro warned that payment processors like PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard have a huge amount of power due to how ingrained they are in global financial systems. His warning was prescient: “It implies that by controlling payment processing companies, you can even censor another country’s free speech”.

The Broader Corporate Context

While Steam and itch.io have faced the most visible impacts, other gaming companies have their own approaches to content moderation that reveal the industry’s complex relationship with censorship.

Activision Blizzard’s Track Record

Activision Blizzard has a well-documented history of content control that extends beyond adult material. The company’s controversial handling of political expression was highlighted during the Blitzchung controversy, where Blizzard banned a Hearthstone champion esports player for voicing support for Hong Kong’s human rights movement, stripped his winnings, and fired two commentators simply for being present during the incident.

The company has also implemented increasingly aggressive content filtering in its games. The new system the put in the game just tells you exactly how little you need to say to receive a ban. It allows you to test/witness what these devs deem to be “offensive.” You can’t even say “frick” or noob”.

This pattern of aggressive content control extends to copyright enforcement as well. A fairly minor machinima maker received a cease and desist letter, in person, from a firm hired by Activision for creating content using game assets, demonstrating how companies use legal mechanisms to control creative expression beyond their platforms.

The Technical Infrastructure of Censorship

The current censorship crisis relies on sophisticated technical systems that operate largely beyond public scrutiny. Payment processors use automated systems to flag content, often with little human oversight or appeal process.

Platform Vulnerabilities

Our ability to process payments is critical for every creator on our platform. To ensure that we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritize our relationship with our payment partners and take immediate steps towards compliance. This vulnerability is by design - platforms become entirely dependent on a small number of payment processors, creating single points of failure that can be exploited by activist groups.

The Opacity Problem

One of the most concerning aspects of this censorship system is its lack of transparency. I’m sorry we can not share more at this time as we are still getting a full understanding of the situation ourselves, itch.io explained to creators, highlighting how even the platforms themselves don’t fully understand the rules they’re being forced to enforce.

Looking Forward: The Stakes for Digital Freedom

The implications of the 2025 gaming censorship crisis extend far beyond adult content or even gaming itself. What we’re witnessing is the emergence of a new model of digital control where private financial companies operate as unaccountable arbiters of acceptable expression.

The Slippery Slope Reality

Fears abound that Steam is in for the kind of turmoil that struck OnlyFans all the way back in 2021, when the site said that pressure from banks was forcing it to ban pornography on the platform. The precedent is clear: once payment processors establish their ability to control content, the scope of that control inevitably expands.

International Implications

The takedown came after Collective Shout successfully lobbied payment networks and processors to stop facilitating financial transactions from storefronts Steam and Itch.io until games with certain content were removed. This demonstrates how activist groups in one country can effectively control content access globally, undermining national sovereignty over cultural expression.

The Developer’s Dilemma

For creators, the message is clear: self-censor or risk financial deplatforming. The IGDA said it was “alarmed by the vague enforcement of policies delisting and deplatforming legal, consensual, and ethically-developed games, especially from LGBTQ+ and marginalized creators”. The vagueness is a feature, not a bug - it creates uncertainty that encourages over-compliance.

The Path Forward: Resistance and Alternatives

Despite the grim landscape, resistance is possible and necessary. The gaming community’s rapid mobilization demonstrates that people won’t passively accept financial censorship.

Technical Solutions

Alternative payment systems and decentralized platforms offer potential workarounds, though they face significant adoption challenges. Cryptocurrency-based payment systems, while imperfect, provide some resistance to traditional financial censorship.

Regulatory Response

Some jurisdictions are beginning to recognize the problems created by financial deplatforming. Antitrust action against payment processors could limit their ability to operate as content arbiters.

Community Action

The petition campaigns and direct pressure on payment processors show that coordinated action can have impact. The Change.org petition continues to gain momentum, with hundreds more signatures being added by the hour.

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Conclusion: The Battle for Digital Freedom

The 2025 gaming censorship crisis represents a watershed moment in the fight for digital freedom. What began as a campaign against specific adult content has revealed the fragility of creative expression in an era of corporate digital control.

The partnership between activist groups and payment processors has created a new model of censorship that bypasses democratic processes and legal frameworks. When credit card companies become moral cops, we’ve entered dangerous territory for free expression.

Jean Ketterling, University of Saskatchewan summarized the broader implications: “It has the effect of shrinking the space available for diverse sexual expression”. But the impact extends beyond sexual content to encompass any form of expression that challenges mainstream sensibilities.

The gaming industry’s response will determine whether this crisis represents a temporary setback or a permanent shift toward corporate-controlled expression. The stakes couldn’t be higher: the future of creative freedom in the digital age hangs in the balance.

As developers, players, and advocates navigate this new landscape, one thing is clear: the fight for digital freedom requires constant vigilance and active resistance. The alternative is a future where faceless corporations and self-appointed moral guardians determine what stories can be told and which voices can be heard.

The great gaming censorship crisis of 2025 isn’t just about games - it’s about who gets to control the cultural conversation in an increasingly digital world. The outcome of this battle will shape the internet for generations to come.

For ongoing coverage of digital freedom issues and resistance strategies, continue monitoring developments in payment processor policies and platform content guidelines. The situation remains fluid, and coordinated community action continues to be essential.