Steam’s New “Vague” Ruling Bans Certain Adult Content

Valve introduced new guidelines on Steam for adult-only game developers to follow. The rules, according to EuroGamer, are quite “vague” and imprecise in wording, supposedly catering largely to credit card companies. The date for when Valve introduced the changes is unclear. 

Here is the specific ruling for the restriction, listed under the what developers shouldn’t publish on Steam section of the official Steam partners website: 

”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 ruling is the latest in the specified section, numbered fifteen. EuroGamer criticizes the ruling due to its ambiguous nature, claiming this is “corporate cowardice in action.”

SteamDB X account reports that many incest themed games were removed from the store. Engadget reports that Mastercard and Visa had blocked the use of their cards on Ponrhub in 2020, using the case as an example of payment processors fighting against being used to purchase adult content. Within the same article, Engadget claims that Valve’s new ruling may set a potentially troubling precedent, speculating that it creates the quiet normalization of financial censorship.