It seems major credit card brands like Visa and Mastercard are tightening their grip on "performance regulations," leading them to halt transactions for adult content. This move has already hit various e-commerce platforms dealing in adult material, including DMM.com, DLsite, the out-of-print manga service "Manga Library Z," and Melonbooks. And it looks like this trend is only picking up steam.
Now, digital game platform Steam has abruptly revised its content review guidelines for game listings, applying these new rules retroactively to previously uploaded adult (18+) titles. The result? A massive wave of forced delistings. This bombshell hasn't just ignited fierce debate within Japanese online communities; it's now a scorching hot topic on the international stage.
On July 16, Steam publicly updated its platform content review guidelines, explicitly stating new restrictions on "specific types of adult content." True to form, a massive number of games immediately began disappearing. The very next day, July 17, even more adult-oriented games and DLC were scrubbed from the Steam platform.
Checking game change logs on third-party site SteamDB reveals that adult games are being marked "Retired" or "Remove from store" in droves. The titles primarily targeted for removal are adult-oriented games developed in Asian regions, including Japan, China, and Korea.
While there's no official explanation for the exact mechanism driving this wave of removals, current observations strongly suggest that Steam developer Valve is either acting on its recently updated content guidelines or responding to "direct pressure" from credit card payment providers. This situation mirrors previous incidents on Japanese platforms where payment processors intervened to restrict content deemed to involve sexual violence or ethical controversies.
This controversy has also served as a stark wake-up call for international players, revealing that credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard have long wielded an "invisible censorship mechanism" over online content. This unseen hand dictates not only whether you can pay with your card but also whether a game can even survive on a platform.
In response, X CEO Elon Musk weighed in on X, replying to a news article that stated, "Visa Japan's CEO believes prohibiting card payments for adult games is essential for maintaining brand image." Musk's comment? "Hmm... X really needs to launch its own payment service soon." This strongly hints that he's open to creating an alternative payment platform to circumvent such censorship. It's worth noting that Musk isn't just a gaming enthusiast; he's also one of PayPal's co-founders.
Regardless of the root cause, this content censorship controversy, sparked by credit card payment policies, has clearly transcended Japan's borders, morphing into a global earthquake for players and creators alike. With this upheaval now shaking Steam, one of the world's largest gaming platforms, the international gaming community is finally confronting the very real threat that "financial institutions intervening in content censorship" poses to creative freedom.