Players are trying to fight censorship on Steam. They form petition and look for solutions

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In the past, a series of rule adjustments led to numerous mature games being removed from Steam. The implementation of these rules was primarily driven by organizations managing financial transactions, such as banks and card companies like Visa or Mastercard. Later on, it was claimed that Collective Shout played a significant role in creating this scenario.

It appears that many gamers disapproved of these alterations, leading them to take action independently. Across various Reddit threads, discussions have emerged about finding ways to combat the restriction of mature games. As of now, their efforts have culminated in the creation of a petition.

Petition against game censorship

A campaign titled “Influence MasterCard, Visa, and activist groups to cease restricting our access to content” has been initiated on change.org. As of now, it has amassed more than 27,000 valid signatures. The organizers have outlined four key requests in this endeavor:

  1. cessation of censoring legal fictional content that is in accordance with the law and platform standards;
  2. rejection of influences from activist groups (such as Collective Shout);
  3. being completely transparent about content restrictions and the reasons for their implementation;
  4. protecting the rights of developers to make legal content for adults.

As a gamer, I can’t help but notice the inconsistency between Visa and Mastercard’s actions. On one side, they seem to be strict about censoring fictional content, yet on the other, they let platforms such as OnlyFans run smoothly without any hurdles. It’s a bit puzzling, isn’t it?

The petition underscored the importance of individuals having the freedom to personally choose the media they prefer to view, read, or interact with, without any compulsion. Everyone retains the liberty to avoid content they deem inappropriate, yet they must not infringe upon others’ choices.

Following the submission of the petition, it was later deemed as defamatory. As a consequence, the founder had to delete one of the posts and issue an update to allow for further signatures. In his most recent communication, he expressed that Collective Shout is advocating for the removal of this petition altogether.

Japan’s move

Incidentally, I should point out that on July 22, Visa was penalized by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission due to allegations of breaching antitrust regulations in the conditions of its transactions with business partners.

Some gamers speculate that this might be related to the censorship of fictional content, as certain materials have surfaced commending Japan’s actions and advocating for similar measures in Western regions. Nevertheless, I couldn’t uncover any credible evidence supporting a direct link between the Japanese government’s actions and Steam’s modifications.

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2025-07-24 13:03