Collective Shout, an Australian group known for its activism against pornography, has celebrated the recent removal of numerous sexually explicit games from Steam, as well as the implementation of new stricter moderation guidelines. According to Valve, the company behind the platform, this action was motivated by pressure from payment processors like Visa and PayPal, highlighting the influence that commercial regulations can have on content moderation in games.
Their principle is to censor everything they don’t like, and they don’t like anything
The Collective Shout campaign included a call to users to contact credit card companies, asking them to cease transactions on platforms that host video games they consider offensive. More than 1,000 people supported this initiative, sending emails and making calls to urge payment processors to cut ties with Steam and other similar platforms.
The group also issued a statement on July 18, declaring victory after the removal of hundreds of games that address controversial topics such as rape and incest. However, they have pointed out that there are still 82 games remaining on the platform and that they will continue their fight for their removal. This controversy has sparked mixed reactions in the gaming community, with some accusing the group of censorship and others supporting their mission.
The situation became complicated when Waypoint removed articles that reported on the links between Collective Shout and the changes on Steam, leading to accusations of self-censorship. The author of these articles, Ana Valens, has defended the quality of her work and expressed her desire for other journalists to investigate the issue more thoroughly. This scenario suggests that the controversy over content regulation on video game platforms may not have come to an end.
