A new regulation from Steam regarding payment processors in connection with the content of certain games is causing some titles to disappear from the shop again.
What regulation is it about? Steam has introduced a new rule that prohibits content that might violate the standards of payment providers such as Visa or PayPal. The guidelines (see partner.steamgames.com, as of July 16, 2025, 5:30 PM) state:
“Content that may violate the rules and standards of Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks, as well as internet service providers. This applies particularly to certain content intended for adults.”
The problem is that Valve, the company behind Steam, does not clearly explain what content is affected, aside from the notice at the end. Known to apply to many games, adult content does not have a clear delineation of what constitutes such content.
This wording of the rule also primarily means: Developers must adhere to the requirements of the respective payment processors, not just Steam’s guidelines. Developers must also consider the rules and standards set by Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal and comply with them if they wish to bring or maintain their games on Steam.
Additionally, the new rule has led to numerous games being removed from the store almost simultaneously, which apparently fit exactly into the “adult games” category, as SteamDB notes via Bluesky.
Numerous games removed from the store
Which games were removed according to SteamDB? As reported by SteamDB via BlueSky, many games that explicitly focused on sex and whose gameplay centered primarily on that were particularly removed. Many of them had also explicitly targeted incest as an obvious theme, so it is less surprising that these games had to leave the store.
Games that feature sex scenes and are therefore often labeled as adult games seem not to be affected by the new regulation. Other factors, such as violence or more difficult themes, do not currently seem to play a role in the deletions.
It remains to be seen whether more games will be deleted due to this new regulation, and whether games with other themes will be affected.
In the comments under Steam DB’s post, there are also voices that find Valve’s actions strange, as they do not understand why payment processors should have a say over the content of the games:
- @gtrunner writes: “Payment processors are the true owners of the internet.”
- @snirkely states: “It is certainly not the role of payment processors or internet providers to decide which art should be distributed, regardless of what you think about the content itself.”
- @garlic-raspberry ponders: “[…] What if PayPal decides that it doesn’t like violence? Or if Visa decides that it doesn’t like bank robberies in GTA? Why should these companies decide what legal things we can buy?”
It is not the first time that Valve’s regulations lead to discussions. Recently, an established modder deleted his Steam account after 20 years and accused Valve, among other allegations, of lying: After repairing PC ports for 20 years, a modder deletes his Steam account and makes accusations against Valve
