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A game can be legal, a platform can be willing to sell it, and a customer can want to buy it—yet the sale can still become commercially impossible if the payment infrastructure objects.
That is what happened in July 2025, when Steam changed its content rules and itch.io temporarily removed adult NSFW games from search and browse pages. The episode does not prove that Mastercard directly ordered either platform to ban specific games. It does show something more consequential for creators and consumers: payment processors, acquiring banks, card networks and merchant-of-record platforms can influence what remains financially viable.
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What happened to Steam and itch.io?
The events began with No Mercy, a game that drew controversy over depictions of incest, blackmail and non-consensual sex. It was removed from Steam and itch.io in April 2025.
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Collective Shout, an Australian advocacy group opposed to the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls, then contacted payment companies including PayPal, Mastercard and Visa. The group argued that games depicting sexualised abuse and torture should not be financially facilitated. It said more than 1,000 supporters contacted payment processors.
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- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
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The documented sequence matters. Collective Shout did not directly order Steam or itch.io to remove content. Its campaign targeted financial intermediaries; those intermediaries raised concerns with platforms; and the platforms changed policies or restricted content.
Steam’s July rule change
On July 16, 2025, Steam expanded its distribution rules to cover material that may violate the standards of payment processors, card networks, banks or internet providers. The language was broader than a ban on illegal material: a game could be affected because it might conflict with a private company’s rules or risk tolerance.
On July 18, Valve confirmed that it had “retired” several games from the Steam store. Steam did not initially publish a complete list or a precise definition of all affected content. Its developer documentation is available through Steamworks onboarding.
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On July 24, itch.io said it had deindexed all adult NSFW content from its browse and search pages while auditing more than two million product pages. It said the immediate pressure followed Collective Shout’s complaints to its payment processors about games including No Mercy.
Itch.io said that maintaining payment access was essential to paying creators and keeping the marketplace operating. It suspended Stripe payments for 18+ content for the foreseeable future, said it was seeking alternative processors and planned to require creator attestations concerning compliance with payment policies.
The platform later posted an update concerning the reindexing of adult NSFW content on July 31. Because the scope and status of reindexing can change, readers should consult itch.io’s current official update rather than assume that every affected page was permanently removed.
Deindexed is not the same as deleted
This distinction is important for both buyers and creators.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
- Deindexed: hidden from internal search and browse pages, while a direct URL may still work.
- Delisted or retired: removed from sale or marketplace listing.
- Deleted: permanently removed, potentially including its files and page.
Itch.io said deindexed products could remain in users’ libraries. That does not guarantee permanent access: files may disappear if a creator removes them, or if the page is later permanently removed. Buyers of DRM-free games should keep lawful local backups where the purchase terms permit it.
The Guardian reported an estimate from the Game File newsletter that more than 20,000 games had disappeared from itch.io’s NSFW category. That is an industry-newsletter estimate, not an official itch.io count. Steam did not publish a comparable comprehensive total.
Who actually has the power?
“Payment processor” is often used as if it describes one company. In practice, several entities may sit between a buyer and a creator:
Consumer → issuing bank → card network → acquiring bank → processor or gateway → marketplace → creator
- Issuing banks provide consumers’ cards.
- Card networks such as Visa and Mastercard route transactions and establish network rules.
- Acquiring banks give merchants or platforms access to card acceptance.
- Processors and gateways screen, route and settle payments.
- Platforms such as Steam or itch.io may combine storefront, payment, payout and compliance functions.
A platform can be legally permitted to sell a game while being unable—or unwilling—to sell it through a particular financial channel. Losing PayPal, Stripe or mainstream card acceptance can threaten every transaction on a marketplace, not just the controversial titles.
The Mastercard–Valve disagreement
Mastercard publicly said it had not evaluated games or required restrictions on game-creator platforms. It said lawful purchases are permitted, while platforms must maintain controls against unlawful adult content. That statement was reported by GamingOnLinux.
Valve’s account was different. Valve said payment processors and acquiring banks rejected Steam’s existing policy and cited Mastercard Rule 5.12.7 and “risk to the Mastercard brand.” Valve said Mastercard did not communicate with it directly; concerns were relayed through intermediaries.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
These accounts are not necessarily contradictory. Mastercard could avoid directly instructing Steam while its rules influenced processors and acquiring banks. Those intermediaries could then pressure Steam. The public evidence does not prove that Mastercard issued a direct command to remove particular games, but it does document an indirect chain of pressure.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe relevant rule should be read in its current form in the official Mastercard rules. “Brand risk” is especially significant because it can encourage intermediaries to reject an entire category even when individual transactions are not illegal.
Why smaller marketplaces are especially exposed
Steam has enormous customer reach and bargaining power, but it still depends on mainstream payment access. Itch.io is more exposed because it operates an open user-generated-content marketplace with more than two million product pages. It said creator tagging alone could not reliably identify every relevant title during a rapid audit.
That creates a predictable business choice:
- A processor classifies a category as high risk.
- The platform faces possible chargebacks, compliance costs, monitoring or loss of payment access.
- Reviewing every title individually is expensive and uncertain.
- The platform hides or removes a broad category to protect the rest of its marketplace.
Itch.io said losing PayPal could prevent it from paying many creators. For a small platform, preserving ordinary payment infrastructure may be more important than defending a narrow category, even if the platform believes some affected games are lawful and should remain available.
Collateral damage beyond pornography
The initial dispute focused on games involving sexual violence, incest and other extreme themes. The response was broader. “Adult” or “NSFW” labels can include explicit sexual content, nudity, queer identity, sexual themes, mature narrative work, visual novels and games exploring trauma or sexuality.
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Reports about individual titles also need checking. The Guardian’s correction concerning claims about Last Call and Consume Me illustrates why social-media lists should not be treated as verified removal records.
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Is this censorship?
It is not government censorship in the conventional legal sense. Private companies generally may set contractual terms for the services they provide, subject to applicable law. A card network is not a court deciding whether a game is legal.
But “financial censorship” can describe the practical effect of private payment restrictions. If a creator cannot accept ordinary payments, reach customers or receive payouts, the content may be legally available in theory but commercially inaccessible in practice.
The most accurate description is therefore not “Mastercard censored Steam” as an established fact. It is that payment infrastructure created pressure that contributed to platform-level restrictions. Responsibility is distributed, and that distribution can make decisions difficult to appeal or scrutinise.
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The same structure could affect other categories if they are considered too risky by processors, acquiring banks or their insurers. Possible pressure points include adult art, comics, visual novels, crowdfunding, subscriptions, self-published books, sexual-health education, horror, violent or politically controversial works.
There are precedents. OnlyFans attempted to prohibit adult content in 2021 before reversing course, and Gumroad adopted stricter rules for NSFW art after payment restrictions. These examples show that payment access can shape platform policy, but they do not prove that every mainstream game or political product is next.
The risk is greatest where five conditions overlap:
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- a small number of payment networks dominate customer checkout;
- contracts use vague terms such as brand damage or unacceptable risk;
- campaign groups can reach intermediaries more easily than platforms;
- the platform cannot afford a detailed item-by-item review; and
- there is no practical replacement payment channel.
Age-verification requirements in places such as the United Kingdom and European Union add another pressure. They do not establish a coordinated campaign, but they can make broad restrictions cheaper than building robust age-assurance systems.
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- Visa Virtual eGift Cards are designed for online use only. Gift Cards are subject to Terms and Conditions: a.co/5bw3qXJ
- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
Options for creators
Alternative payment methods can reduce dependence on one provider, but none is a guaranteed solution.
| Approach | Benefit | Cost or risk |
|---|---|---|
| Mainstream processor | Familiar checkout and broad reach | Strict content rules and possible account restrictions |
| Specialist processor | More experience with adult or higher-risk businesses | Underwriting, reserves, higher costs and chargeback exposure |
| Direct sales | More control over storefront and customer relationship | Security, tax, refunds, fraud and support become the creator’s responsibility |
| Multiple processors | More redundancy | Separate contracts, compliance systems and inconsistent rules |
| Cryptocurrency | Less dependence on card networks | Volatility, low adoption, refunds and compliance complexity |
| Free downloads plus donations | Fewer paid-transaction classifications | Unreliable income and possible donation-platform restrictions |
Specialist providers such as CCBill, Segpay and Verotel may be relevant for some businesses, but acceptance is underwriting-dependent and current pricing must be obtained directly. BTCPay Server can support self-hosted Bitcoin payments, but it does not remove tax, security, accounting or customer-support obligations.
A practical resilience checklist
- Keep lawful local backups of DRM-free game files and maintain customer download archives.
- Do not rely on one marketplace or processor.
- Read the current acceptable-use policy for every connected payment provider.
- Use age gates, clear content labels, refund rules and moderation procedures where appropriate.
- Maintain a direct audience channel such as a website, mailing list or community forum.
- Document payouts owed, chargebacks, account holds and provider correspondence.
- Before moving to direct sales or cryptocurrency, obtain appropriate legal and tax advice.
What buyers should understand
A missing store listing does not always mean a purchased game was erased. Check the buyer’s library, the creator’s direct page and any official platform notice. A direct URL may work even when internal search does not.
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The financial lesson
Payment companies are not literally deciding what is legal. They are deciding—or influencing—the conditions under which a transaction can be processed. Platforms then choose whether to challenge those conditions, narrow their catalogue or protect the payment system that supports the rest of the business.
That is why the Steam and itch.io episode matters beyond adult games. It exposes a chokepoint in digital commerce: lawful content can remain technically permitted yet become difficult to discover, sell or support when a small number of private financial intermediaries consider it too risky.
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