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The Latest Breaking News from Collective Shout

'Legality is not the defining factor': Anti-porn group that pressured Steam and Itch.io adult game delistings says it goes after games it doesn't like 'even when they are not illegal'

"Media that glorifies sexual violence against women harms all women, regardless of whether a few women participate in its creation or consumption."

‘Financial companies shouldn’t be in this position’: How more than 20,000 NSFW video games fell under censorship

‘Financial companies shouldn’t be in this position’: How more than 20,000 NSFW video games fell under censorship

A mass purge of sexually explicit games exposes the little-known yet all-encompassing system of ‘financial censorship’ practiced by payment providers such as Visa and Mastercard, reports Io Dodds

The Independent UK

Censoring video games with sexual content suppresses the diversity of human desire

Censoring video games with sexual content suppresses the diversity of human desire

Following a campaign by Australian anti-porn organization Collective Shout, the video game distribution platforms Steam and itch.io recently made changes to their policies about hosting games with adult themes.

The Conversation

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inkl

The Anti-Porn Crusade Comes for Online Games

Activists pressure payment processors, who in turn pressure game marketplaces. The result? A whole lot of video games and visual novels are disappearing.

Steam Banned A Horror Game Before It Could Launch, So Now It’s Free

A horror developer is giving her new game away for free after its planned launch was ruined by Steam's recent game bans.

Thousands of games have been censored from major platforms, with LGBTQIA+ creators caught in the crossfire

Online game marketplaces itch.io and Valve’s Steam have recently delisted or completely removed more than 20,000 titles from their storefronts, after not-for-profit group Collective Shout pressured payment processors to change their rules.

The Conversation

"Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, and Saints Row" are "at risk" amid pressure to remove adult games from Steam and Itch, retro platform worries

"We are fervent supporters of artistic freedom and always will be"

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Mastercard denies allegations of pressuring platforms to remove NSFW games

Mastercard denies allegations of pressuring platforms to remove NSFW games

The payment processor says it did not pressure platforms into removing games.

Echoing Nier's Yoko Taro, Peak devs blast "puritan" group behind recent Steam and Itch game takedowns: "It'd be foolish to assume that any game is safe"

Echoing Nier's Yoko Taro, Peak devs blast "puritan" group behind recent Steam and Itch game takedowns: "It'd be foolish to assume that any game is safe"

"It threatens video games' ability to operate as art in any way whatsoever"

Viral horror game Mouthwashing no longer appears in Itch.io search results, but that's not because of the new crackdown on NSFW games, marketplace confirms

Viral horror game Mouthwashing no longer appears in Itch.io search results, but that's not because of the new crackdown on NSFW games, marketplace confirms

Mouthwashing hasn't been indexed on Itch.io since last October

Why did thousands of adult titles just disappear from the biggest PC gaming marketplaces?

Why did thousands of adult titles just disappear from the biggest PC gaming marketplaces?

Digital distribution platforms Steam and itch.io have tightened their rules about adult content – under pressure from payment processors. Why has this happened and where will it lead?

The Guardian - UK

Visa and Mastercard pressuring Itch.io and Valve does 'nothing to protect' women, and shock games will just be 'side-stepping the ban entirely', say affected indie devs

Visa and Mastercard pressuring Itch.io and Valve does 'nothing to protect' women, and shock games will just be 'side-stepping the ban entirely', say affected indie devs

"Cutting these women off from income streams and audiences does nothing to 'protect' them."

Mastercard and Visa face backlash after hundreds of adult games removed from online stores Steam and Itch.io

Mastercard and Visa face backlash after hundreds of adult games removed from online stores Steam and Itch.io

Payment platforms demand services remove NSFW content after open letter from Australian anti-porn group Collective Shout, triggering accusations of censorship

The Guardian - AU

Mastercard and Visa Under Fire As Petition For Payment Giants To 'Not Police' Legal Content Blows Up

Mastercard and Visa Under Fire As Petition For Payment Giants To 'Not Police' Legal Content Blows Up

The petition addressed that MasterCard and Visa must stop censoring legal fictional content that complies with the law and platform standards.

International Business Times UK

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"It might be porn games now, but they won't stop there": Game devs join players and artists rallying against credit card companies after mass NSFW game delisting

Meanwhile, Itch posts and hastily deletes an endorsement of AI-generated messaging

Gaming’s recent run-ins with payment processors set a dangerous precedent

We could be in for the biggest censorship wave in video game history.

The Latest Adult Game Bans Reveal Who's In Control Of What Games We Get To Play

Indie storefront itch.io has deleted and hidden huge swaths of its library after pressure from credit card companies, and developers are working to push back.

Itch.io deindexes NSFW games after becoming the latest target of skittish credit card companies and anti-porn group Collective Shout, catching an award-winning indie and more in the crossfire

Finally, we're safe from… uh, award-winning indies about girlhood and games that discuss the historic oppression of queer people.

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Steam’s Latest Crackdown On Sex Games Highlights An Alarming New Trend

Steam removed a wave of adult games from its storefront, and the results could be much darker than you think.

Australian anti-porn group claims responsibility for Steam's new censorship rules in victory against 'porn sick brain rotted pedo gamer fetishists', and things only get weirder from there

Everyone hated that.

Report Finds Almost 80% Increase In Harmful Sexual Behaviour At Aussie Schools: ‘This Is A Crisis’

Students as young as Year 5 and 6 are being “continually asked” to send nudes that are then “passed around to other boys”.

The Guardian - AU

Can pornography be healthy? If it follows six rules, perhaps

A ‘deeply controversial’ research project has laid out a set of criteria for ‘healthy porn’, with the aim of developing ‘porn literacy’ in young adults

The Guardian - UK

Instagram under fire over sexualised child images

Accounts showing pictures of children that raised concern were not removed even after being reported

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