Valve removes "Adults Only" games from Steam

Valve is removing dozens of explicitly sexual games from Steam, as a measure to toughen its "adults only" content rules. The action aims to meet the requirements of its payment processing partners. This platform "clean-up" has already begun, and Valve has updated its guidelines to make it clear that certain types of content may violate these standards.

Valve is removing "adults only" games from Steam to comply with payment partners.

New Rules and Community Reaction

The change was noticed by GameSpark and Automaton, with SteamDB records showing intense activity behind the scenes. Valve updated its "Rules and Guidelines" policy, adding clause 15, which now explicitly prohibits "content that may violate the rules and standards established by Steam payment processors and related card and bank networks, or internet network providers."

The SteamDB account on X/Twitter revealed a long list of pornographic games recently removed from the platform. This action follows a strong public backlash earlier this year, when UK Secretary of Technology Peter Kyle criticized Steam for hosting an explicitly sexual visual novel that included acts of non-consensual sexual contact, such as rape and incest. Developer Zerat Games eventually voluntarily removed the visual novel after its removal from sales in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

However, Valve's new guidelines are already facing criticism. Some have expressed concerns about censorship and the "vagueness" of the language used in the company's rules, arguing that lack of clarity could lead to arbitrary interpretations and removal of content that may not necessarily fall under serious violations.

This decision contrasts with the view of Gabe Newell, co-founder and head of Valve, who recently commented on his days living and working on his superyacht, which some see as a disconnect from the realities and pressures faced by the platform regarding content.