NOTE: Please note that the article below is a revised version, as our original article was removed due to Steam's content filter not really liking it, so a lot of phrases and words used in the original version have had to be repleaced, and a lot of our references included at the end too have had to be removed. I'll try and post some of the references that I wasn't able to post in the article in the comment section instead, as the articles all head a potentially "sensitive" headline that made Steam's algorithm geek out. Hopefully this one stays up, but for now, please enjoy this heavily redacted version of our article below

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In mid-July, indie developers woke up to find their games had vanished from Steam and Itch.io.

Not due to DMCA claims and not for violating platform terms as they existed the day before. Their crime? Hosting adult or sexually explicit content that crossed an invisible line - one drawn not by Steam or itch.io, but by payment processors and the activists whispering in their ears.

And just like that, the industry is once again staring down the barrel of corporate content restriction-by-proxy, with Visa and Mastercard at the trigger.


At the center of the crackdown is Collective Shout, an Australian anti-adult video lobby group with a long history of pressure campaigns. In June, they set their sights on games like No Mercy, a visual novel featuring taboo content, and began lobbying payment giants - Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal - to take action.

The message landed. Within weeks, Steam updated its rules, quietly adding language about content that could “violate payment processor policies.” itch.io followed with a sweeping deindexing of every game tagged No Safeness for the Workplace - over 20,000 titles.

Developers weren’t warned. Many weren’t even told. Games disappeared from search, discoverability tanked, and income dried up overnight.


Visa and Mastercard have denied issuing blanket bans, claiming they only restrict illegal content. But both Steam and Itch.io have privately cited Mastercard Rule 5.12.7, which bans "depictions of non-permitted sexual behavior"- a vague standard that leaves interpretation wide open.

It's not the law, but it might as well be. The real power lies not in a platform’s ToS, but in whether a bank is willing to process the checkout page.


The backlash was immediate - and furious.

Indie studios, particularly queer, erotic, and transgressive creators, condemned the move as a return to chokepoint tactics: the use of financial systems to suppress legal but controversial art.

Some platforms are now walking back, partially. itch.io has restored free No Safeness for the Workplace games to search. Steam has remained quiet.

But for many, the damage is done and is still being felt.


In a rare counter-move, GOG.com made thirteen adult indie games temporarily free-to-own, stating:

Originally posted by GOG:

If a game is legal, you should be free to buy it

And in an act of protest, the developers of Vile: Exhumed, Final Girl Games, rejected by Steam, released the game for free under a Creative Commons license.

Originally posted by Final Girl Games:

This is our response to being censored, and our rejection of the idea that horror can be defined as acceptable or not.

This isn't about one game. Or one payment policy. Or one activist group.

This is about who controls what games get made, and how fragile that control has become. If Mastercard can decide whether a rope-revenge horror game is too edgy for a storefront - without public process, debate, or accountability - then we’ve lost the argument before we’ve even had it.

Once again, developers are being forced into guerrilla tactics: torrent-based releases and donation-only models. Some will find workarounds. Many won’t.

In a world where art can disappear at the whim of a payment rule, we all need to ask: who’s next?

At Sentinels of the Store, we believe creators should not be made to beg for permission to tell stories - especially not from payment companies or activist groups operating behind closed doors.

Content Restrictions doesn’t begin with banned books or shuttered games. It begins when a developer hesitates to write a scene, draw a character, or publish a title, fearing retaliation not from the law but from an algorithm or a faceless compliance officer.

The recent wave of removals on Steam and itch.io is not an isolated incident. It’s the latest front in a broader campaign to sanitize digital creativity, using financial systems to make moral judgments without democratic input or transparency.

We stand with the creators - especially those whose work pushes boundaries, explores uncomfortable truths, or speaks from the margins. We reject the idea that legality is not enough. And we reject the idea that mature-rated games is inherently dangerous.

We call on platforms to defend artistic freedom. We call on players to support the developers being sidelined. And we call on the industry to remember that behind every game is someone who took a risk - and deserves more than silence in return.

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References

Why did thousands of adult titles just disappear from the biggest PC gaming marketplaces?[www.theguardian.com] - The Guardian

Indie horror game rejected by Steam releases for free instead: 'This is our response to being censored, and our rejection of the idea that horror can be defined as acceptable or not' - PCGamer

Collective Shout Website[www.collectiveshout.org]

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Special thanks go to our Patrons Caff, Stefan & Luke for their continued support!

Check our Linktree for everywhere you can find me and Steam Sentinels![linktr.ee]

E-mail me: mellowonline1@gmail.com

UPDATE - The article still appears to have been censored by Steam for an unknown reason.

It appears to be dipping in and out, which suggests to me it's not a human issue, but an automated content checking bot freaking out.

Some can access it, others can't, but there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to who can access and how. We've experimented with it with some of the Steam Sentinels team, and some can access it, and then 5 minutes later, it can't be accessed, and then it comes back shortly after. It seems the admins have a higher chance of accessing it than our mods/members.

Attempted to repost the article, but it too has been hidden.

I've written to Steam to work out why this is happening. It's not a Steam-wide problem with announcements, as our article talking about the de-indexing is still up, no bother.

We're working to get our latest article back up for everyone to view. Please bear with us as we work through these uncharted waters.

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Hello ladies and gentlemen!

We've had our most recent article go up today, but unfortunately you may not have been made aware of it as it appears that Steam have de-indexed the article due to the themes it talks about, as we go into the recent Visa and Mastercard impacting some games on Steam.

De-indexing basically means that the article is not discoverable to the general public and you can only access it via a link, think of it almost like an unlisted YouTube video except it's been forced to become one.

Please do find it here, I do expect as a result of this the article is going to be Dead on Arrival though, but if you could all share it around as much as you can that'd be greatly appreciated.

I did also try a different formatting style for this one including saving citations till the end of the article and I also try and be more direct and to the point, so please do let me know what you think.

And yes, it is very ironic an article talking about Steam censorship got this kind of treatment, as this has never happened to me in my almost 10 years of writing these posts.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/groups/Sentinels_of_the_Store/announcements/detail/543365188100817486

I'm now a gaming news show producer!

I'm pleased to say Steam Sentinels have worked with Hannah of News Cartridge to reboot the News Cartridge gaming news show, which initially ceased frequent episode production back in 2018.

You can watch the first episode here.

Please do be sure to subscribe to the News Cartridge YouTube channel as well!

We are starting off with a 2-episode trial week with a desire for frequent production to kick into full flow by September. News Cartridge will be covering mainstream gaming news as well as news within the Steam indie scene also!

https://x.com/MellowOnline1/status/1926019520877002884?t=0DLuryL8_AB2xzQ_94ltSg&s=19

I want to give a big thank you to Steam's Alden Kroll, Tom Giardino and Andrew Loomer for inviting myself, Sentinels administrator Ratchet3789, Sentinels events coordinator Hannah, and Sentinels researchers Connor and SirViolentDeath to Bellevue, Washington today for a tour of the Valve offices.

We saw some cool stuff around the offices and had some great in-depth and productive conversations and discussions about everything Steam over lunch.

Thanks so much for the Steam team's hospitality (and the goodie bags) and we hopefully will be back again in the future!

Over the past few days, there has been significant discourse surrounding reports I put out of an alleged Steam data breach involving over 89 million records, and I want to take this opportunity to offer full transparency, clarify the timeline of events, and provide some closing thoughts.

On May 11th, a member of the Sentinels of the Store Discord community shared a LinkedIn post from a cybersecurity-focused account, Underdark.AI, reporting a claim that a threat actor named "Machine1337" was selling an alleged database of Steam user data on a dark web forum. The post included details such as them having over 89 million Steam user records & links to a sample dataset

Given the seriousness of the claim and the potential risk to users, I echoed the warning on Twitter/X to advise Steam users to take basic account security measures (enable 2FA, change passwords, stay vigilant). I cited the original source - Underdark.AI - and linked to their post directly.

40 minutes after I made the initial post, I was made privy to an update Underdark issued stating that they had suspected a Twilio-related vendor compromise, rather than the information coming from a direct Steam breach. After I was made aware of this, I updated my X thread clarifying that this incident appeared to be a supply chain compromise - not a direct breach of Steam’s systems.

While I made my initial posts on May 11th, my posts didn't start to get traction until May 14th following what was at first a couple of media outlets picking up the story, however this then quickly snowballed to over 100 outlets covering it including larger sites such as Gaming Bible, Rock Paper Shotgun, VG 24/7, and Bleeping Computer amongst others as well as some tech and gaming YouTubers, many typically citing me as the origin source. These outlets had picked the story up after I'd already issued an update emphasising this was not a Steam Breach - but a suspected supply chain compromise, however many outlets still ran with the Steam Breach headline.

As the story got more traction, I was then emailed by a Steam engineer, both asking for support discovering the source of the leak, but who also stated definitively that Steam does not use Twilio, casting doubt on the earlier claim that the sample data came via that route. I immediately updated my posts with this new clarification and ensured anyone who had quoted or referenced the original thread was made aware.

Importantly, I did not originate the breach claims, nor did I ever claim to possess the leaked data. My intention was to amplify an already-public report and encourage vigilance while more information came to light.

Valve has now released its own statement regarding the matter. The leaked sample appears to include older SMS-based 2FA messages. No Steam systems were breached, and the data does not include any user credentials or sensitive account information (excepting phone numbers, but these just got leaked in an isoalted format, there's no way to match up the Steam account with the phone number.) The messages cannot be used to compromise Steam accounts, and no password or payment data was exposed.

Their full post is available here.

While I acted in good faith and with caution, I recognise that the situation caused concern and some confusion. My intention was never to sensationalise or mislead, but to inform and protect users based on publicly available reports.

To those who felt misled - I hear you, and I apologise if my posts contributed to any undue alarm. I hope this full accounting helps demonstrate that my aim was to act transparently and responsibly at every stage.

This will be my final statement on the matter. I remain committed to consumer protection and transparency in the gaming space through Sentinels of the Store - and I’ll continue working constructively, not combatively, with platforms like Steam to do so.

Thank you to everyone who constructively engaged, questioned, and helped clarify things along the way.

Stay safe,
Mellow