Gamers are flooding the credit card companies with complaints about Steam and Itch.io for pressuring them to restrict adult games

In July 2025, game distribution platforms Steam and Itch.io suddenly stopped distributing some adult games. It has been revealed that the cause of this was the credit card companies that provide payment services to Steam and Itch.io. In response to this, major credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard have been inundated with calls and emails of protest from gamers.

Visa and Mastercard are getting overwhelmed by censorship gamer fury | Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/news/616835/visa-mastercard-steam-itchio-campaign-adult-games

In mid-July 2025, Steam suddenly removed a large number of adult games from its platform. This was a response to criticism from the anti-pornography group Collective Shout against payment platforms such as Visa, PayPal, and Mastercard, alleging that 'extreme adult games are being distributed on Steam and Itch.io.' However, the restrictions did not clearly state what types of adult games were subject to the restrictions, and gamers expressed dissatisfaction, claiming that if payment platforms said no, all content would be unavailable.

After Steam removes a large number of adult games, anti-pornography group declares 'victory over pedophile gamers', 'Gamers Enraged' trending on Japan's X (formerly Twitter) - GIGAZINE

Itch.io then followed Steam in announcing that it would also strengthen its restrictions on adult content. Itch.io stated, 'Payment processing capabilities are essential to all creators who use our platform, so in order to continue our business and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritize our relationships with our payment partners and take swift steps to ensure compliance,' explaining that it had been forced to restrict some adult content due to pressure from payment processors.

Following Steam, indie game marketplace Itch.io also starts cracking down on adult games - GIGAZINE

Gamers have launched a coordinated campaign in response to the credit card companies' censorship-like crackdown on game streaming platforms, urging each other on social media sites like Reddit and Bluesky to contact Visa and Mastercard to complain.

Currently on the phone with Visa

Instead of starting with a complaint, I approached this as a Confused American Consumer who doesn't understand why they can't buy things off a website they use

The call center rep immediately asked if it was about Steam/itch

(cont)

— AL Goldfuss ( @ghoulpus.bsky.social ) July 27, 2025 5:53

According to a Reddit post , customer service representatives from Visa and Mastercard are already aware of the ongoing turmoil in the gaming industry. They said they have received numerous calls about censorship of adult games, but said they have no answers on the matter.

On Reddit, some people commented, 'You can ignore the email, but calling and creating a queue so long that other customers can barely get in will also go a long way in letting the payment processor know about the problem.'

Some people have reportedly directly emailed executives at payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard to express their concerns about the controversy. Some people have also reportedly emailed customer service directly to protest, and the reply email they received from Visa is as follows: Visa explained that it will only pressure platforms to explicitly ban the sale of content if the platform handles content that violates the law.

Thank you for contacting us and sharing your feedback. As a global company, Visa complies with the laws and regulations wherever we operate. While we specifically prohibit illegal activity on our network, we are equally committed to protecting legitimate commerce. Our policy is to process transactions where they are legal. Visa makes no moral judgments about legitimate consumer purchases. Visa does not control the content sold by merchants and does not know the specific goods or services sold at the time a transaction is processed. When legitimate merchants are at risk of illegal activity, Visa requires the banks that support them to implement enhanced protections. For more information about Visa's policies, please visit the Network Integrity page on Visa.com. Thank you for contacting us.

Bluesky shares contact information for Visa and Mastercard representatives regarding adult game censorship.

Good morning. Did you call your local censorious payment processor and let them know you're upset with their bullying of Steam and itchio? No time better than the present

yellat.money

[image or embed]

— Ana Valens | 🔞 ( @acvalens.net ) July 25, 2025 22:05

Gamers also urge one another to always be polite when dealing with payment processors, even when dealing with employees who are just trying to do their jobs.

Just called Visa, I would encourage others to do the same but make sure to be respectful. : r/Steam
https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/1mb7pe3/just_called_visa_i_would_encourage_others_to_do/