Overview

• Valve added a clause to Steam’s publishing guidelines barring content that may violate rules set by payment processors, card networks, banks or internet providers, specifically targeting certain adult-only material.
• The change effectively gives banks, credit card firms and ISPs de facto veto power over what Steam defines as acceptable adult content.
• Within hours of the update going live, SteamDB logged the removal of several explicit-themed games, although it remains unconfirmed whether those takedowns were enforced under the new clause.
• Developers and community members warn the policy could lead to broader censorship of queer and other nonconforming content labeled as “explicit.”
• This update follows Valve’s 2018 shift from arbitrary adult-content warnings to a labeling and age-gating model, marking another evolution in its content governance.