Visa and Mastercard face backlash over censorship of adult content on gaming platforms
TL;DR
Visa and Mastercard have pressured platforms like Itch.io and Steam to delist or restrict 'adult' games, impacting many LGBTQ+ and indie developers. This move, driven by anti-porn groups like Collective Shout, raises concerns about censorship, free speech, and the marginalization of marginalized communities, with affected developers warning that such bans are often broad, vague, and harmful to artistic expression and community safety.
- Visa and Mastercard pressuring Itch.io and Valve does 'nothing to protect' women, and shock games will just be 'side-stepping the ban entirely', say affected indie devs PC Gamer
- Mastercard and Visa face backlash after hundreds of adult games removed from online stores Steam and Itch.io The Guardian
- VILE: Exhumed is an unjust casualty in Steam's sweeping censorship campaign Engadget
- Itch.io "re-indexes" free adult NSFW content, paid content to be "slowly" reintroduced GamesIndustry.biz
- Visa and Mastercard are getting overwhelmed by gamer fury over censorship Polygon
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