Blamed for Steam games ban, Mastercard encourages censorship during Riot Games VCT livestreams
When gamers learned that payment processors prompted bans of Steam games, Mastercard became a focus of criticism. In damage control mode, the credit card issued a statement trying to distance itself from the controversy. However, it has now come to light that Mastercard is interfering with esports livestreams. A Riot Games sponsor, a source revealed a request to block comments that are damaging to its brand.
Ana Valens recently resigned from Vice following an article about the censorship of games. On social media, she shared communication between Mastercard and Riot Games. The company requested that its content creator partners monitor for disparaging chat messages. Even if the channels aren’t obligated to obey sponsors, it seems most sided with the payment processor.
Esports Illustrated on SI highlighted some of the moderation in action during VCT Americas Stage 2. On August 8th, gamers noticed that official Riot Twitch and YouTube channels activated follower/subscriber modes. While not unprecedented, viewers reported that chatters had to be following the streams for 24 hours. Regardless, some fans referencing Mastercard suffered bans or extended timeouts.
Followers who were already angry about the censorship of Steam games sought refuge in broadcasts unaffiliated with Riot. In these channels, Mastercard felt the full wrath of consumers who support legal games with adult content.
Mastercard is one of many payment processors under fire
Other credit cards are also under scrutiny. Following Steam, Itch.io delisted indie titles with mature themes from its marketplace. Unlike Valve’s site, Itch.io mainly relies on PayPal and Stripe, with at least one payment gateway objecting to some games available for purchase.
Collective Shout appears to be the driving force behind many of the bans. The Australian activist group opposes the objectification of women and girls in games, movies, and art. It recently claimed to have influenced the credit cards and payment gateways. These companies often have guidelines prohibiting their use in the sale of illegal content. Its critics argue that many of the games in question feature adult content, but aren’t breaking laws.
