Steam, Itch.io are pulling ‘porn’ games. Critics say it's a slippery slope

Who’s driving the crackdown?

• Many comments pin the immediate pressure on an Australian group (Collective Shout), seen by some as sex‑negative “feminist-branded” but aligned in practice with evangelical/right-wing causes.
• Others doubt such a small group could move Visa/Mastercard alone, suspecting funding or ideological alignment from conservative religious networks and/or investors.
• There’s disagreement over whether this is “feminism” at all vs. a religious-conservative front using feminist language.

Payment processors as chokepoint

• Core concern: Visa/Mastercard (and large banks/PayPal/Stripe) are effectively critical infrastructure with a duopoly; when they blacklist a category, they can quietly reshape what’s publishable.
• This isn’t framed as “we won’t process those purchases” but “drop this content or lose cards for everything,” which many call de facto censorship and restraint of trade.
• Some want processors regulated like utilities/common carriers, forced to serve all legal commerce; others point to proposed US “fair access” bills as a partial fix.

What content is actually being hit?

• It’s not only explicit porn VNs: incest, rape, and “extreme” fetish games are clearly targeted, but also BL/otome, LGBTQ+ romance, and even non-erotic titles like Detroit: Become Human flagged for depicting abuse.
• Japanese platforms (DLsite, eroge distributors, women-focused audio and BL) and fetish communities have faced similar card-network pressure for years.
• Critics argue this is a moral panic against “sexualization” that ignores comparably graphic mainstream TV/film violence and erotic literature.

Sex, harm, and feminism

• Some argue porn and porn games are addictive, misogynistic, and normalize abuse; they see banning as analogous to restricting gambling or hard drugs.
• Others counter there’s little solid evidence of broad harm, and that fictional content without real victims (vs. CSAM) should stay legal; they stress the danger of conflating “we dislike it” with “it’s harmful.”
• There’s debate over “objectification” vs. agency in media and whether opposing sexualization in games is necessarily anti–sex.

Slippery slope & politics

• Many fear the precedent: today porn and “incest games,” tomorrow queer representation, then political speech, guns, or other disliked causes. Porn is seen as the easiest test case.
• Historical parallels: comics, rock/metal, D&D, and “violent games” moral panics; current US projects openly calling to outlaw all porn and equating LGBTQ topics with “sexualization.”

Alternatives and resistance

• Suggestions: separate 18+ storefronts; better opt-out filters; crypto or stablecoins; cash-by-mail; new censorship-resistant processors.
• Counterpoints: without card rails these are niche at best; any new processor will face the same pressure; real fix likely needs collective political action against the payment duopoly, not just new tech.