Valve has delisted over hundreds of adult content from its Steam storefront following a July 16 policy update. Now, frustrated gamers are pointing fingers at an unlikely source: an Australian activist group known as Collective Shout. The group has long campaigned against what it calls the ‘pornification of culture.’ Their efforts to pressure payment processors may have influenced stricter rules on explicit games on various platforms, including Steam.
On July 16th, Steam quietly added a new line rule to its official publishing guidelines. It said it forbids content that could ‘violate the standards’ set by payment processors and related card networks and banks.
According to our review of the SteamDB app history page, Steam has removed 385 entries and renamed 166 others over the past three days. Many of them are explicit adult games like Sex Adventures – Incest Family and NTR with hypnosis application. But some removals might not be related to this issue, such as John Wick Hex and Back to the Rooms.
Many believe the Steam adult content crackdown is influenced by Collective Shout’s ongoing campaign. The group, which advocates against the sexualization of women and girls in media, previously claimed responsibility for pressuring payment providers. They pushed to stop processing transactions for games containing rape, incest, and sexual violence themes.
In an X post, Collective Shout wrote that nearly 500 Steam games contained rape and incest tags. A day after they launched their campaign towards payment processors, fewer than 90 of those remained. “We want them all gone,” the group added.
Backlash to the new rule has quickly spread online, as recently, Nintendo has also been accused of performing a similar crackdown on the Switch eShop. Some voiced concerns about the implications of letting financial providers dictate what things Steam and storefronts are allowed to sell.
@Magiholic_ wrote on X, “And so the era of over-the-top Steam censorship begins.” @memeslich chimed in with a broader concern, “Slippery slope. Drakengard contains incest themes, is that game on the chopping block too?”
Meanwhile, @gillium_X suggested a more pragmatic solution, “Crypto solves this.”
Over on Reddit, reactions were mixed. Redditor OldBay-Szn highlighted the harsh reality, “You don’t take on credit card companies in pissing matches. You either comply with them or they’ll deny you service.” Another user, empathetical, dismissed outraged gamers who didn’t buy the removed games in the first place, “Getting worked up about something that doesn’t even concern you. […] Like ok cool. Don’t use Steam then. Whatever.“
Nevertheless, this isn’t the first Steam adult content purge we covered. In late 2024, the platform quietly removed more than 5,000 games; many of which were low-effort, AI-generated asset flips disguised as adult-themed visual novels or puzzle games. Titles like FightingGirl and Hentai: Waifu World vanished overnight, sparking concerns about censorship — but not as big as the controversy seen today.
Collective Shout’s campaign may have been driven by the right intention. However, it sparked an understandable scrutiny as it raises new questions about creative freedom and content regulation. Where exactly should a platform like Steam draw the line, especially when it’s been wishy-washy about censorship in the past? And should companies like Visa and MasterCard really get to decide what games people are allowed to buy and sell?
