A petition to stop censorship onSteamis gaining traction after a group of fans began rallying against recent guideline changes. On July 16,Steamupdated its publisher rules, adding a new term that opens the door for some third-party companies to moderate and police its content.
As of July 16,Steam’s new guidelinesstate that game publishers should avoid releasing titles that may violate the terms and conditions of its payment processors. In other words, the storefront is asking creators to not only follow the platform’s rules but also submit to potential oversight from companies like MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal.
SinceSteam’s new guidelines were implemented, dozens of games have been retired and removed from the platform, upsetting many players. In response to this censorship, some fans have launched apetition on Change.orgurging Valve to revert its policies. As of this writing, the petition has over 10,000 signatures and outlines four key demands: 1) ending censorship of legal adult-only content, 2) protecting creators' right to express their creativity freely, 3) increased transparency from storefronts about their restrictions, and 4) limiting the influence of activist groups on gaming platforms.
The Anti-Censorship Steam Petition Targets Collective Shout
One of the petition’s demands, which references “activists' influence,” appears to be a direct jab at Collective Shout, the non-profit organization that claims to have sparked Steam’s recent policy change. Shortly after Steam removed severaladult-only games, Collective Shout co-founder Melinda Tankard Reist addressed the incident on Twitter. She claimed that the censorship followed the organization’s accusations that Steam’s payment processors were profiting from violent sexual content. Calling the outcome a “major victory,” she said the Australian organization welcomes the new terms and conditions.
Reist has also claimed that the organization’s activists are facing a torrent of abuse. She said many of the Australian women involved in the campaign are now being bullied, threatened, and harassed online by gamers who opposeSteam’s new policies. It’s unclear whether the wave of online abuse began with the anti-censorship petition. However, it’s worth noting that Reist’s Twitter thread was posted just two days after the petition specifically called out Collective Shout for its stance against certain video games.
For now, most major video game storefronts seem to be cracking down on explicitly sexual games and other controversial content. For example,Nintendo has updated its guidelines to filter out spamand inappropriate titles. PlayStation also appears to be targeting AI-generated slop and certain forms of explicit content, making it unlikely that Steam will walk back its decision. It remains to be seen whether the new petition will influence Valve’s stance on adult-oriented content moving forward.
Steam
Steam is a digital video game storefront and program developed by Valve that allows gamers to purchase, play, and mod their titles all through one convenient program.
