LONDON – In recent weeks, the gaming community has been rocked by the sudden removal of adult and controversial games from major platforms like Steam and Itch.io.
Developers and insiders are raising concerns about Mastercard’s involvement, despite the company’s public denial of any role in the matter.
Steam’s parent company, Valve, has pointed fingers at third-party processors for the crackdown, claiming they are simply adhering to Mastercard’s rules.
These payment processors, which facilitate transactions on gaming platforms, have reportedly been enforcing vague compliance standards set by Mastercard, leading to the removal of certain titles from storefronts and search results.
The shift is being described as a complex and unclear chain of command, where Mastercard sets broad content guidelines, payment processors act on them, and platforms like Steam and Itch.io are left to manage the consequences.
Without direct communication from Mastercard, platforms are caught in a difficult position, having to either comply with the new restrictions or risk losing access to essential payment systems.
Valve has strongly criticized this approach, accusing Mastercard of working through back channels and asserting that the company had never contacted them directly regarding the issue.
Instead, banks and payment processors began rejecting adult content without any formal conversation with platform operators, leaving indie game developers to wonder about the future of their creative works.
Itch.io, another popular platform for independent game creators, has faced similar challenges. In negotiations with Stripe, one of the leading online payment processors, developers saw their adult games disappear from visibility.
Stripe, according to reports, has cited its banking partners’ refusal to process transactions for sexually explicit content as the driving force behind the removals.
The gaming community has expressed frustration, calling the situation a form of financial gatekeeping, where large corporations can influence the visibility and sale of certain types of art without explicitly banning them.
While some platforms justify the removal of adult content as a necessary move to comply with financial regulations, others believe this suppression stifles creative freedom and restricts artistic expression.
As platforms like Steam and Itch.io navigate the delicate balance between upholding financial policies and supporting creative diversity, the role of Mastercard continues to be a point of contention in the ongoing debate over what content should be allowed in the gaming world.
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