Mastercard denies pressuring game platforms, Valve tells a different story

The outcry after a recent marketplace crackdown on games with adult content, seemingly due to pressure from payment processors, prompted Mastercard to release a brief statement Friday pushing back against recent headlines.

“Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations,” the company said, adding, “At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.”

This follows an open letter by the advocacy group Collective Shout addressed to executives at Paypal, Mastercard, Visa, and other companies, criticizing them for allowing the sale of “No Mercy” and other games that depict rape, incest, and child sexual abuse.

In the following weeks, Steam announced that it would ban games that violate the rules of its “payment processors and related card networks and banks.” Then Itch.io said it was removing games with adult content from its browse and search pages while conducting a broader audit.

While Mastercard’s statement seems to undermine the narrative that payment and card companies were the ones pressuring the game marketplaces, Steam owner Valve responded with a statement of its own, provided to PC Gamer and other gaming sites.

According to Valve, “Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so. Mastercard communicated with payment processors and their acquiring banks. Payment processors communicated this with Valve, and we replied by outlining Steam’s policy since 2018 of attempting to distribute games that are legal for distribution.”

Valve said its response was “rejected” by the payment processors, who noted the “risk to the Mastercard brand” and pointed to a Mastercard rule against “illegal or brand-damaging transactions.”

Meanwhile, Itch.io said that it’s now re-indexing free games with adult content while negotiating with payment processors including Stripe, which for its part said it’s “unable to support sexually explicit content” due to “banking partners.”