Visa and Mastercard are facing the heat for pressuring online gaming platforms to remove hundreds of games, especially those with sensitive, adult themes. The companies urged big gaming platforms like Steam and Itch.io to take down these games, reportedly warning that if they continue, it could harm their payment systems. This move has affected not just a few, but tens of thousands of games, especially smaller and adult-themed ones that are otherwise legal.
Why did Visa and Mastercard push online gamers to remove hundreds of games?
Recently, both Visa and Mastercard asked online game stores to remove the games which are of ‘adult’ nature. They said that these games pose a risk to the platforms’ payment systems, if they didn’t fall in “content standards”. Itch.io said it had to follow the rules just to keep it running, The Guardian reported. This move by the payment companies followed pressure from advocacy group Collective Shout, and Australia-based group that fights sexualisation of women, which had campaigned against certain games they found offensive.
The decision taken by Visa and Mastercard followed an open letter by the same group. The group, on July 14, urged the payment companies to stop supporting gaming platforms like Steam and Itch.io, claiming that many of the games hosted there has harmful content, which includes rape, sexual violence, and incest.
Itch.io was one of the first to respond. However, instead of targeting the games mentioned by the group, they removed all adult content from its browsing and search features, at least for now. Some games were also taken down completely.
While some people say that they’re just trying to avoid legal trouble, others argue that this is turning payment companies into global censors which decide what content is okay even when it’s not illegal.
Gamers are now calling and emailing Visa and Mastercard to ask them to stop censoring legal content. In fact, a Change.org petition is going around asking the companies to let people buy legal entertainment without interference, has gathered thousands of signatures. Supporters say adults should be free to choose what they want to buy, as long as it’s legal.
‘They don’t care about NSFW content’: Internet slams Visa and Mastercard
A Reddit user said, “It would be awesome if gamers and gooners combined their powers and crowd funded/invested in an alternative payment processor that didn’t censor anything that’s legal.” Another wrote, “These companies don’t care about NSFW content one way or another. They care about money via network fees.” The user further added, “They obviously don’t otherwise they wouldn’t have bowed to that group who raised a stink. For sure fees are important for them but obviously it’s not the only thing.”
Some even took the decision to heart. One of the reddit users said, “Imagine being so unhappy and useless in life that your only goal is to tell others what they can’t do.”
The other side of the Internet expressed that they understand the pressure they are in but they need to come up with a better plan. “Collective Shout said it took only 1000 phone calls to get MC and Visa to start their censorship of Steam and Itch. The gaming community can easily outdo that. But you need to CALL, not email. Clog up their lines, annoy the f*** out of them!” a Reddit user commented.
