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Steam tightens adult content rules after pressure from payment giants

A promotional image for Steam with its logo in the middle displayed against a background various game covers. (Image source: Steam)
Steam has updated its guidelines to disallow "certain types of adult content." (Image source: Steam)
Steam has quietly updated its adult content guidelines and removed some adult games from the store, after pressure from payment processors like Visa and Mastercard.

Steam has updated its content guidelines and begun removing certain problematic games in response to pressure from payment providers, including Visa and Mastercard.  

Steam's onboarding section on their documentation homepage was quietly updated to include the following in Rules and Guidelines: "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."

As spotted by TheGamer, this triggered a mini-purge according to the Steam Database, with many problematic games such as "Incest Tales", "Wolf on Rail", "Sex Village", "Slave of the Police Officer", and many more, being delisted from the storefront. 

While it's not clear what "certain types of adult only content" entails, it seems that more problematic and fetishistic topics will no longer be allowed on the store.

In a way, it's a good thing because Steam has had a long history of adult shovelware that needed to be dealt with. On the other hand, this now gives payment companies more sway over what is published on the store, effectively dictating what kind of games people get to play. 

This isn't new territory for Visa or Mastercard. Both companies have previously cracked down on adult content on platforms like Pornhub and OnlyFans.

Collective shout's open letter

Earlier this month, Collective Shout, a grassroots campaign movement against the objectification of women in media, sent an open letter to payment processors, including PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard, accusing them of profiting from hundreds of problematic games on Steam.

They urged payment processors to "demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games."

The community's response

The community reaction seems to be mixed on the Steam subreddit, with many pointing out that it "kinda sucks" that the platform did this, after pressure from payment networks and not of their own volition.

Others pointed out that card companies shouldn't decide what users spend their money on, and the ultimate power should rest with Valve.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2025 07 > Steam tightens adult content rules after pressure from payment giants
Rohith Bhaskar, 2025-07-16 (Update: 2025-07-17)