Steam has removed dozens—possibly hundreds—of sexually explicit games following pressure from payment processors, triggering a new front in the ongoing battle over age verification and adult content online. The Australian anti-pornography organization Collective Shout is taking credit for the purge, claiming its campaign targeted financial services companies to force Valve Corporation, Steam’s parent company, into compliance.

In a statement shared on social media, Collective Shout co-founder Melinda Tankard Reist celebrated the removal of what she described as “sexually violent online games” featuring rape, incest, and abuse simulations. “In a victory for child safety campaigners, Steam banned the ‘games’ after Australian-based anti-porn organization, Collective Shout accused the payment platforms Visa, PayPal, and Mastercard of profiting from violent pornography,” Reist posted.

The policy change is outlined in Steam’s developer onboarding documents, which now prohibit content that may violate the “rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors.” Specifically listed is “certain kinds of adult-only content.” Developers who market games through Valve’s Steamworks toolkit must comply with the updated guidelines.

Valve has stated that the platform’s moderation changes stemmed from concerns raised by payment processors. “We were recently notified that certain games on Steam may violate the rules and standards set forth by our payment processors and their related card networks and banks,” a company spokesperson told Eurogamer.

“As a result, we are retiring those games … because loss of payment methods would prevent customers from being able to purchase other titles and game content on Steam.”

Games reportedly removed include titles with explicit tags referencing incest, sexual assault, and violent fantasy roleplay. However, enforcement appears inconsistent; some games with controversial themes remain accessible, raising questions about transparency in the platform’s moderation process.

The move follows a broader pattern of adult content platforms, from OnlyFans to Fansly, facing pressure to sanitize offerings in order to maintain access to banking services. Similar campaigns have targeted financial institutions directly, aiming to restrict access to sex work, adult media, and even LGBT+ content under the pretense of combating abuse.

While Collective Shout heralded the purge as a win for child protection, critics argue the effort is less about safety and more about moral policing. The group has long campaigned for the censorship of games like Grand Theft Auto V and Detroit: Become Human and has been compared to U.S.-based anti-porn organization NCOSE, a group with ties to religious conservative movements and anti-LGBTQ+ agendas.

Feminist activist Li Maizi summarized the concern: “They should implement a rating system to protect these creators rather than simply erasing them.”

Controversy surrounding the crackdown widened after Vice reportedly removed investigative articles linking Collective Shout to Steam’s policy shift. Journalist Ana Valens, who wrote the original reports, resigned after claiming that parent company Savage Ventures pulled her work “due to concerns about the controversial subject matter.”

In response to criticism, Reist fired back on social media, referring to opponents of the purge as “porn sick brain rotted pedo gamer fetishists”—language that has drawn further condemnation.

Steam’s crackdown echoes the rising tensions in adjacent industries, particularly adult content platforms, which are facing increasingly aggressive age verification mandates. The involvement of payment processors in moderating content not only shifts responsibility away from governments but also extends private censorship to gaming, literature, and artistic expression.

As pressure grows from anti-porn groups worldwide, age verification laws are becoming flashpoints for litigation and protest. Experts warn that restrictions often rely on vague moral criteria rather than clear standards, leading to disproportionate censorship of marginalized creators and non-mainstream genres.

Steam’s purge, sparked by indirect financial pressure and activist lobbying, may signal broader instability for digital platforms offering adult content, especially as payment processors emerge as de facto gatekeepers of online speech.