Payment processors cancel games en ru

Apologies for the clickbait headline — unfortunately, that's exactly what's happening.

Just because not all games are being banned right now, or not the ones you personally play, doesn't mean your favorite shooter won't be banned in a year or two because it "doesn't align with the values" of some deputy deputy's mistress (or lover) at MonopolyPayCard.

Let me tell you about:

• What happened.
• What I think about it.
• What I want to advise those who engage in such nonsense.

I strive to minimize the use of harsh language in this post, but I've kept some, as it most accurately conveys my opinion about the situation. This post, like the entire blog, expresses my personal opinion. If you can't or are not allowed to read harsh language, please skip this text.

What happened

A small but seemingly very influential group of hypocrites from Australia wrote a letter to the heads of major payment processors complaining about NSFW (Not Safe For Work) games.

The payment monopolists went after the gaming monopolists — Steam and Itch.io. No one's saying which processor applied the pressure, but in my opinion, only two companies have that kind of leverage.

The stores quickly complied, without the slightest resistance.

On July 24, 2025, Itch.io removed all NSFW games from search results.

On July 16, 2025, Steam removed hundreds of games and added a new delightful 15th rule to its content restrictions:

[15] 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.

The bolded caps are my marks.

And this is despite the fact that they already have the following rules:

[1] Hate speech, i.e. speech that promotes hatred, violence or discrimination against groups of people based on ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation

[2] Nude or sexually explicit images of real people

[3] Adult content that isn't appropriately labeled and age-gated

[6] Content that violates the laws of any jurisdiction in which it will be available

[7] Content that is patently offensive or intended to shock or disgust viewers

[8] Content that exploits children in any way

Rule 15 not only puts payment processors de facto ABOVE the law (see Rule 6), but also has an absurdly vague interpretation. There are no clear criteria for what is forbidden; the rule literally means "if your game doesn't please someone in the payment processors or if someone at Steam thinks that this game won't please someone in the payment processors, then your game is toast."

Additionally, Itch.io announced a process of "remoderation" for published NSFW games, which may or may not improve the situation. Knowing how these things work, I wouldn't expect anything good. I think Steam is doing something similar, but I couldn't find a confirmation.

As a result, a significant part of the gaming industry has been completely cut off from the market and its own players. This affects both game studios specializing in NSFW games and enthusiasts who made games simply for themselves as a form of expression, emotional release, or hell, just to jerk off and earn some respect in their fetish community.

The gamedev community (not just NSFW, but all of it) is currently in a state of a light shock and is trying to organize itself, but the prospects are still unclear, and what to do is not fully understood.

If you want to support developers, just go to the forum of your favorite NSFW game and write a few kind words to its authors. I'm sure many readers of this blog played at least one :-) Believe me, player support is a very powerful thing and motivation.

My opinion

First, the situation really affects all gamers and all game developers. This isn't just a problem of some narrow group of marginalized people.

Even the moderators of r/gamedev (1.9M members) are saying the same thing — here's their post.

These days, it's nearly impossible to find a good game that can't be criticized for something. The Witcher, Doom, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Diablo, Cyberpunk, GTA, Counter-Strike, etc. — all these games can be accused of anything from excessive violence to sexism, not to mention that many of them contain "adult elements".

If we allow uneducated @##@$% to decide what is allowed and what isn't, there will be nothing left that is allowed.

For heaven's sake, even in the politically correct mainstream pop game Baldur's Gate 3 there is a whole "god of masochism" mentioned, and the player can go through a mmm… ritual with one of his followers. Not to mention The Bear.

The essence of many games, especially RPGs, is not only in entertainment but also in raising complex and sensitive questions; in safely exploring our culture, ethics, and morality. The same applies to literature, cinema, and all other forms of art.

If we let hypocrites and hypocritical corporations dictate what is allowed and what isn't, the world will quickly descend into dystopia — one of the kinds about which our favorite RPGs are. Only in RPGs we play as all-powerful protagonists who save the world, whereas in real life, we'll be crushed one by one, just like people are in many less fortunate countries today.

We must unite and resist.

Second, there is no objective evidence that thoughts, ideas, games, books, movies, etc. are harmful.

I have never heard anyone say, "a book made me kill" or "I raped people because I played a game about rape."

However, there are numerous personal stories about how books, movies, and games have helped people cope with difficult experiences, overcome depression, find friends, and discover themselves — to make sense of the world around them.

Edgy, boundary-pushing works are especially important for young people who are just beginning to explore the world and themselves. They offer a safe way to engage with complex and difficult questions — ones that often shouldn't be tested in real life, but that everyone needs to consciously grapple with.

I want to emphasize "consciously". Imprinting in mind that "you can't do this because God/The Book/Father/Mother/Guru forbade it" is not consciously grappling with the issue — it's cowardly hiding from the world, cutting out part of your critical thinking, and filling that void with fear.

People who've inflicted that kind of violence on themselves are no longer capable of driving progress; they struggle to create new things or understand new ideas. As a result, they live in fear, seeing nothing but fear. Fear breeds hatred, and through it, they try to force the whole world to live in the same fear, since they have known nothing else.

It's people like this who give birth to the very concept of thoughtcrime, because they can't conceive that a worthy person can have a will unbound by fear and hatred.

The good news is that most "controversial" works are a result of progress, and progress is unstoppable — it's one of the few forces that eventually crushes everything in its path. No matter how much power these people gain through money and hatred, they will be destroyed by it.

The bad news is that progress doesn't run on a schedule. Whether we live to see the fall of the hypocrites or spend the rest of our lives in fear and hatred depends only on us — on our efforts.

The good news is that over the last fifty years, progress has been winning: in music, in cinema, in philosophy, and in human rights. We must ensure that it also wins in gaming.

I want to help, what can I do?

If you know developers of NSFW games, support them. Write a few kind words to them if you've played their games. If you haven't played, just tell them that they are not alone against the corporations.

Tell your friends about the situation. Share this post, or write your own. The more people know about the problem, the more likely it is that something will change.

Complain directly to the payment systems: instructions.

Sign the petition on Change.org

If you can, support the Fair Access to Banking Act (US) — this bill would prohibit payment card networks and large banks from denying services for political or reputational ("moral") reasons when the activity is lawful and meets objective risk standards.

My advice to potential hypocrites

Learn to respect the personal affairs of others

I've always lived by the principle — pardon the blunt phrasing — "everyone gets off as they want" (kind of Russian idiom). Keeping the context in mind, I think the phrasing is appropriate. As long as you don't harm others, break the law, or violate the rights of others, you should have the right to do whatever you please.

I'm deeply convinced that without following this principle, a person ends up hurting both themselves and others.

That's why I recommend that everyone think, at least for a couple of minutes, about this idea: how your life might have turned out if you hadn't felt the urge to meddle in other people's business. Would you feel calmer? Would you have more time for yourself and your loved ones? Would you sleep better?

In my opinion, the answer to all these questions is "yes".

Quit blaming others for your own mess

If you think that some book or game can "ruin" your child, then it is not the book/game that is bad, it is you who have become such a parent, whose authority is lower than the authority of some noname author.

If you become angry because someone else dresses differently, dances differently, eats differently, or draws something you don't like, then the problem is not with that person. It is you who haven't learned to accept other people as equals, and your self-control is poor — improve it.

Invest your time and energy into growing as a person — not into burying others under your fear and hatred.

Respect the laws, the state, and your fellow citizens

If you think that some book or game violates the laws of your country, then go to court — that's what courts are for, to resolve disputes between equal people.

If you don't like resolutions made by the courts, then go into politics and change the laws. If you can convince a majority of people that your views are correct, then you can change your country for the better. If you can't convince them, maybe there's something wrong with you and your views?

Using monopolists to pressure people who depend on them is a cowardly and underhanded tactic — one that has never led to anything good in the course of history.