A viral petition targeting payment processors Visa, MasterCard, and activist groups responsible for the removal of numerous games from Steam has gained tremendous momentum, surpassing 30,000 signatures in less than a week. The grassroots movement shows no signs of slowing down as more gamers join the protest against what they perceive as unfair censorship.

The controversy began on July 16 when Steam implemented significant updates to its publishing guidelines, effectively giving payment processors like MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal veto power over game content. These financial institutions maintain strict policies regarding sexual content, resulting in approximately 100 adult-oriented games being abruptly removed from the platform.

The swift removal of these games ignited immediate backlash from the gaming community. Activist Zero Ryoko launched a Change.org petition demanding that MasterCard and Visa:

1. Cease censorship of legal fictional content across platforms
2. Resist pressure from advocacy groups like Collective Shout
3. Increase transparency regarding content restrictions
4. Protect developers' rights to create adult-oriented material

Rapid Growth of Anti-Censorship Movement

The petition, created on July 17 (one day after Steam's policy changes), achieved remarkable growth:

• Reached 10,000 signatures within four days
• Doubled that number in just two additional days
• Continues gaining approximately 500 signatures daily

This exponential growth demonstrates widespread dissatisfaction with the current content moderation approach.

While Change.org petitions don't possess direct enforcement power, the gaming community understands that massive participation can create tangible consequences:

• Potential revenue loss for companies involved
• Negative impact on stock prices
• Increased shareholder pressure

At publication time, neither Valve (Steam's parent company) nor the payment processors have publicly addressed the petition, but the mounting signatures make the movement increasingly difficult to ignore.

Latest Game Information