How to Avoid Issues with Adult Games and Card Payments (Due to Pressure from Groups like Collective Shout)

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Disk0_ 28 Jul @ 7:22am

Some of you may have noticed that certain adult games on Steam are being censored, restricted, or even removed—not necessarily by Valve, but due to external pressure from activist groups like Collective Shout. These groups target payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard, urging them to cut off support for platforms that allow adult content.
A practical workaround? Use your Steam Wallet.
When you add funds to your Steam Wallet (using PaySafeCard, prepaid cards, gift cards, etc.), you're completing the payment upfront. Then, when you buy a game using that balance, Visa and Mastercard are no longer part of the transaction. That means their restrictions won’t apply at that point.
Why this works:

Bypasses card-based censorship.

Offers more privacy and flexibility.

Allows you to purchase games that may otherwise be blocked for direct card transactions.

As long as the game is still listed on the store, Steam Wallet is a solid way to access what you want without dealing with third-party interference.

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Showing 1-14 of 14 comments

Thermal Lance 28 Jul @ 10:56am

The problem ain't that you can purchase those games using those payment methods. The problem is the very presence of those games on the platform and these payment providers want nothing to do with a platform selling content they want no association with.

WolfEisberg 28 Jul @ 10:56am

Doesn't work like that. VISA/MasterCard will pull their services away from Steam if that content is in the store even if that content could only be bought with Steam wallet. Other stores tried what you suggested and it didn't work.

The only choices are remove content and keep visa/mc, or not remove content but lose visa/mc

Swedra 28 Jul @ 11:12am

Blanket forbidding of certain themes like everything is equal and giving in to ideological fanatics with more heart than brain (because of monetary reasons at that!) is starting to sound frightingly close to a religious dictatorship...speaking of which, did they ban religion from Steam yet? If this wasnt about vile people being the ones with the money, I would guess religion would be the first to go considering all the vileness and horror religion causes (and in real life, unlike the sex games floating around).

Truth 28 Jul @ 11:21am

Originally posted by WolfEisberg:
Doesn't work like that. VISA/MasterCard will pull their services away from Steam if that content is in the store even if that content could only be bought with Steam wallet. Other stores tried what you suggested and it didn't work.

The only choices are remove content and keep visa/mc, or not remove content but lose visa/mc

Yep, not sure why people keep getting confused. Its not that Visa/MC don't want to allow those transactions, its that Visa/MC don't want to do business with steam if they CARRY those items.

Ceana of the Crags 28 Jul @ 11:23am

Originally posted by Thermal Lance:
The problem ain't that you can purchase those games using those payment methods. The problem is the very presence of those games on the platform and these payment providers want nothing to do with a platform selling content they want no association with.

You speak about them as if they were a legal person, which they are not. It is not their right to dictate what is sold on Steam.

The wallet is not a work-around, because they will leave Steam. Bank transfers are the work-around.

The only choice is NOT bowing the knee to moral-terrorists. There are other choices. We should boycott MC and Visa. I am. My MasterCard company can kiss my back side. But, I'm also going to boycott buying new content on Steam, for allowing ANYONE to cause them to censor games on their platform. Well, it's not *their* platform anymore, since MC and Visa are dictating terms.

For those of you who think this is the end of the demands? Think again.

WolfEisberg 28 Jul @ 11:25am

People are being distracted from the real problem and refusing to look at the real problem because they are convinced some powerless lobby group magically has power over multi billion corporations.

The real problem

Rape/incest games can potentially be obscene content, which is illegal even in the USA...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/obscenity

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-ceos/obscenity

Anyone make visa/MasterCard aware of such content, it makes sense why VISA/MC would choose to get that content removed because of the risk they hold if that content is found to be illegal.

VISA/MC could be held liable for it if it turns out it's illegal content.

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladviceofftopic/comments/1m8oi92/comment/n527of5/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=Steam&utm_term=1&utm_content=t1_n5hoq3m

Truth 28 Jul @ 11:28am

Originally posted by WolfEisberg:
People are being distracted from the real problem and refusing to look at the real problem because they are convinced some powerless lobby group magically has power over multi billion corporations.

The real problem

Rape/incest games can potentially be obscene content, which is illegal even in the USA...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/obscenity

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-ceos/obscenity

Anyone make visa/MasterCard aware of such content, it makes sense why VISA/MC would choose to get that content removed because of the risk they hold if that content is found to be illegal.

VISA/MC could be held liable for it if it turns out it's illegal content.

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladviceofftopic/comments/1m8oi92/comment/n527of5/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=Steam&utm_term=1&utm_content=t1_n5hoq3m

This is why you shouldn't listen to Reddit, the judge dismissed the lawsuit against Visa/MC regarding that and said they weren't liable and it would be akin to saying you could sue the electric company for providing power to the servers hosting the content.

There was no reasonable expectation for a credit card processing company to know the details of every transaction of every customer and to have in depth knowledge of what that purchase contained and the legality of every single thing bought.

Thermal Lance 28 Jul @ 11:28am

Originally posted by Ceana of the Crags:
Originally posted by Thermal Lance:
The problem ain't that you can purchase those games using those payment methods. The problem is the very presence of those games on the platform and these payment providers want nothing to do with a platform selling content they want no association with.

You speak about them as if they were a legal person, which they are not. It is not their right to dictate what is sold on Steam.

The wallet is not a work-around, because they will leave Steam. Bank transfers are the work-around.

The only choice is NOT bowing the knee to moral-terrorists. There are other choices. We should boycott MC and Visa. I am. My MasterCard company can kiss my back side. But, I'm also going to boycott buying new content on Steam, for allowing ANYONE to cause them to censor games on their platform. Well, it's not *their* platform anymore, since MC and Visa are dictating terms.

For those of you who think this is the end of the demands? Think again.

A company can bloody well choose who they do business with. That's reality.

For better or worse, those processors got Valve by the balls. Not much they can do but comply.

Want things to change? Whine to your government. Whining on Steam is pointless.

William Shakesman 28 Jul @ 11:32am

Originally posted by Thermal Lance:
Originally posted by Ceana of the Crags:

You speak about them as if they were a legal person, which they are not. It is not their right to dictate what is sold on Steam.

The wallet is not a work-around, because they will leave Steam. Bank transfers are the work-around.

The only choice is NOT bowing the knee to moral-terrorists. There are other choices. We should boycott MC and Visa. I am. My MasterCard company can kiss my back side. But, I'm also going to boycott buying new content on Steam, for allowing ANYONE to cause them to censor games on their platform. Well, it's not *their* platform anymore, since MC and Visa are dictating terms.

For those of you who think this is the end of the demands? Think again.
A company can bloody well choose who they do business with. That's reality.

For better or worse, those processors got Valve by the balls. Not much they can do but comply.

Want things to change? Whine to your government. Whining on Steam is pointless.

No, they literally can't. The Civil Rights Act explicitly removed that right from companies. Free Association is ABSOLUTELY NOT a right in America, especially not for corporations. They can very easily be compelled to do business with people they would rather not. And when payment processors have wormed themselves into being the middlemen of every single online transaction, that shouldn't come with a country-wide extralegal economic veto. At least it shouldn't in any sane country that doesn't blindly worship middlemen.

Last edited by William Shakesman; 28 Jul @ 11:36am

WolfEisberg 28 Jul @ 11:38am

Originally posted by Truth:
Originally posted by WolfEisberg:
People are being distracted from the real problem and refusing to look at the real problem because they are convinced some powerless lobby group magically has power over multi billion corporations.

The real problem

Rape/incest games can potentially be obscene content, which is illegal even in the USA...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/obscenity

https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-ceos/obscenity

Anyone make visa/MasterCard aware of such content, it makes sense why VISA/MC would choose to get that content removed because of the risk they hold if that content is found to be illegal.

VISA/MC could be held liable for it if it turns out it's illegal content.

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladviceofftopic/comments/1m8oi92/comment/n527of5/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=Steam&utm_term=1&utm_content=t1_n5hoq3m

This is why you shouldn't listen to Reddit, the judge dismissed the lawsuit against Visa/MC regarding that and said they weren't liable and it would be akin to saying you could sue the electric company for providing power to the servers hosting the content.

There was no reasonable expectation for a credit card processing company to know the details of every transaction of every customer and to have in depth knowledge of what that purchase contained and the legality of every single thing bought.

It's only tentatively dismissed, meaning it's not set in stone at all and they could still be held liable since this decision is only a temporary decision. So until there is a set in stone precedence that shows they cannot be held liable Visa/MC are better off doing what they are doing to protect themselves.

#10

Swedra 28 Jul @ 11:44am

Capitalism, Religion and delusional fanatics (religious or otherwise) at their finest...again.

#11

Crazy Tiger 28 Jul @ 12:11pm

Originally posted by Truth:
Yep, not sure why people keep getting confused.

Cause people are parotting clickbait articles/videos.

#12

Ben Lubar 28 Jul @ 12:23pm

Does your credit card statement say which games you purchased? Hint: it doesn't. All your credit card company knows is that you bought a game on Steam that cost a certain amount total for the cart.

#13

Thermal Lance 28 Jul @ 12:25pm

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:
Originally posted by Truth:
Yep, not sure why people keep getting confused.
Cause people are parotting clickbait articles/videos.

It's really becoming a problem these days.

People turning off their brains in favor of listening to whatever talking head on youtube and parroting the content with no critical thinking applied.

#14

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All Discussions > Steam Forums > Suggestions / Ideas > Topic Details

Date Posted: 28 Jul @ 7:22am

Posts: 14

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