this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2025
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[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 171 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It starts with porn, and ends with anti-church content. Everything in between must go.

[–] FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com 53 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Haha, it doesn’t end there it just keeps going.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 126 points 2 days ago

I have zero faith this campaign will stop until we're back in the stone age.

Future headline:

"Game vendors pressured to stop selling games where women are allowed to vote or express an opinion that doesn't reflect her husband's"

[–] ms_lane@lemmy.world 115 points 1 day ago (2 children)

A few days ago there were many here saying the idea of a slippery slope to banning LGBTQ+ games was nonsensical.

Yet, here we are.

[–] Eezyville@sh.itjust.works 36 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It always starts with "Protect the children!!"

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 7 points 23 hours ago

Same crowd is who the children need protecting from

[–] h3rmit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you read the article, it does not say there has been a second wave or something targetting LGTBQ+ games. It is one person saying their comic was SFW and was delisted.

We should definitely fight back regardless, don't get me wrong, but as of yet there has not been LGBTQ+ targetting.

The author of the SFW comic should contact itchio and ask why their game was deindexed, since itch did MASSIVE removal of all "adult" and NSFW content beyond what their payment processors asked, as to evade any issue and then reindex according to them.

Again, we should be alert, and we should monitor their firther actions closely, but it's not time yet to cry wolf with the LGBTQ+ targetting.

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[–] J92@lemmy.world 94 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Sounds like Valve should set up a payment processing system.

[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 86 points 1 day ago (2 children)

At least in the US, it's full of regulatory red tape that was designed to pull up the ladder behind the current large payment processors.

Even Musk and his ample bribe money, under the most corrupt administration in decades, hasn't managed to get full approval for his "~~X~~ Twitter Money" payment service.

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Steam can 100% enter any market they want, especially something entirely digital like online payment processing. That's pretty closely related to what they do already. They just have to have a reason to want to do so.

Steam makes a reported $3.5 million per employee from commissions alone. Possibly as much at $19 million per head across the board. To put that into perspective, Facebook, one of the most profitable companies on the planet, averages a net income of $780,000 per employee, and Apple at $476,000 per employee.

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/valves-reported-profit-per-head-from-steam-commissions-is-out-there-and-at-usd3-5-million-per-employee-it-makes-apple-and-facebook-look-like-a-lemonade-stand/

Steam may not be as large as those companies, but they're so effectively streamlined. So much of their profits come from existing systems that only need minimal maintenance as opposed to needing to constantly develop new products. It is a well-oiled money printing machine at this point. And nothing they do is based on any sort of speculation bubble threatening to burst at any point.

[–] p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 day ago

This is BS. Whatever payment processor they develop will need to interact with all of the major credit card processors: VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. All credit and debit cards use these four brands as the backing network. There is no way around it.

Nobody is going to add a new credit card brand, not even Steam. Amazon doesn't do it. Twitter doesn't do it. Ebay doesn't do it. Nobody does. If they did, they would face immediate retribution from the VMDA empire. Their payments would cease, and Steam would collapse overnight.

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[–] absentbird@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Couldn't they just start accepting ACH to get around the payment processors? Or is that overly complicated?

Should be feasible, many of my bills allow it. If there's an issue w/ lag, they could always allow it only for wallet top-ups and people could use that.

But I think the issue is that if they accept these payment processors at all, they need to comply w/ their policies. Completely cutting them off could significantly hurt sales.

[–] wildcardology@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

I buy my games using steam wallet.

[–] Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 75 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

Clickbait doesn't explain properly - the reason queer games were removed from Itch.io is because (and this is another issue) they were one of many media hosters who labeled anything LGBTQ+ as NSFW. The tag itself gets improperly used but anyway. They were still banning under 18s from learning and experiencing diverse life. Romance ≠ sexuality ≠ identity but some people don't understand that.

[–] tonytins@pawb.social 50 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

While I agree, a lot of these banning campaigns do try to link LGBTQ+ as NSFW to justify their actions.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 day ago

They understand. They don’t care.

[–] seralth@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

A lot of devs also label their game LGBTQ because THEY the DEV are gay trans or what have you while their game has NOTHING to do with it.

Iv played so many little platformer or rougelite games that have literally zero LGBTQ themes. But are labeled LGBTQ and nsfw purely because the devs like to misuse tags.

It's a huge fucking pet peeve of mine.

TAG YER SHIT RIGHT GOD DAMN IT.

[–] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So they are going to ban Baldurs Gate 3?

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago

100% they would try to ban anything with any sort of romance in it if they could.

Collective Shout is a group of anti-porn nutjobs hiding behind a feminist facade.

Surprisingly, not American, the Australians decided to join the puritanical bullshit this time.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 day ago

Yeah, somehow I doubt this is just an unfortunate unintended consequence.

[–] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I keep people repeating this, but where are you getting this information from? I've never seen this claim before, and I've not noticed this happening when I've used itch in the past either?

I've noticed a ton of accusations of itch doing seemingly a bad thing after another, and so far all of those claims have turned out wrong. Please give a source at least!

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[–] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 60 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And here we go... the inevitable conclusion. If you deviate from a fundamentalist ideal of the norm then your existence is pornographic by its very nature.

[–] GiuseppeAndTheYeti@midwest.social 40 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Anyone got one of them antitrust lawsuits?

[–] BlackLaZoR@fedia.io 41 points 2 days ago (1 children)

If these were EU corporations, they'd be sued into oblivion by consumer protection agencies

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago (2 children)

GoG is European right? They'll probably try to go after them too.

And if not, GoG may become the main haven for non-approved content.

[–] lath@piefed.social 18 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Depends. The Polish government has its share of religious nuts. If they get courted on this, Gog may end up forced to comply.

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[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 37 points 1 day ago

SHOCKER.

Fucking fundamentalists

[–] pinheadednightmare@lemmy.world 36 points 2 days ago

If I can’t have my lgbtq+ and nsfw games, then I don’t need my non-lgbtq+ and nsfw games. Go ahead and play this game and fuck around and find out. I’ll sell all of my consoles real quick. Fuck this mess.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 33 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The extremist group that convinced the payment processor is already targeting horror games next. They will not stop until they can dictate every media choice available

[–] Aussieiuszko@aussie.zone 10 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

For anyone who wants to help stop them, reach out to their partners who fund them. Most of the orgs would not be happy to know they're financially supporting a LGBTQ hate group.

https://www.collectiveshout.org/partners

These are Australian companies, and are not used to any sort of serious pressure from the public. They will drop CollectiveShout quickly if it looks like bad press for them.

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[–] FerretyFever0@fedia.io 31 points 2 days ago (3 children)

My fucking god. You may or not believe me, but for the past 7 months, I've been almost completely unaffected by everything going on. I'm extremely lucky in that sense. This is the first thing that has gotten close to fucking with my life. I guess that I knew something was going to happen that would affect me. It didn't feel like something that would actually affect me. True, this is still mostly a minor inconvenience, but it's going to expand to include every M rated or slightly creative or provocative title. We are so fucked. My god.

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 29 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

is banning porn games on the same level?

no… not even a little, but i think it’s pertinent… these groups keep pushing harder and harder and it won’t stop. it’ll eventually reach you as a person; not just your interests

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Oh, I believe you just fine... I'm just not sure this is something you should be bragging about.

Maybe you should also care about things that don't directly affect you. Just a thought.

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[–] Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

I'm right with you there - freedom of expression is fundamental, I feel, and freedom of autonomy is not only a privilege to us as conscious, self-aware beings, but also a constant. Imagine a couple billion international people being told they can't have nice things or freedom by a thousand extremely conservative people from one country. This whole thing is a joke, but if it's any consolation the people will always fight back. We will always find a way to reject the doctrine of some buffoons. Chances are some people are already compiling a catalogue of every game removed from Steam in order for them to be available. The most low-effort controversial titles may not be much of a loss, but everything following them will be.

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[–] lostoncalantha@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (2 children)

There’s a reason why Christ was crucified and it wasn’t for your sins. Christianity is a cult. Time to enter the 21st century people. Even the ancient Romans knew this.

[–] REDACTED@infosec.pub 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Uhh, I don't think ancient roman is a good example, unless barbarism, constant expansionism, slavery and patriarchy is your thing, and I'm skipping over a lot of other fucked up shit like forced sex based on status quo. While their culture was indeed rich, they were far from being an example country.

EDIT: Even carthage, the country rome destroyed, would be a better example.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Oh, I have some pretty advanced sins

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[–] Taalnazi@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago

Fuck these billionnaire fascists

[–] Dutczar@sopuli.xyz 17 points 1 day ago

I expected potentially shitty management of next gen Valve employees to ruin Steam, not this.

Worst case scenario if it get worse, what will the alternatives be in the future? Since most stores use these processors, would a store need to open up without them, or can the current ones decided to stop using them? I assume Steam won't pull out even if they could, since it sounds like financial suicide when most of the customers are there for convenience.

[–] RobotZap10000@feddit.nl 15 points 2 days ago

Somehow, they're forgetting that sex sells like hot cakes. They're also not passing up the opportunity to marginalize minorities even further!

[–] rickrolled767@ttrpg.network 10 points 1 day ago

Is there any way to see a list of whats been removed from both platforms? I know a lot of archiving is going on for Itch, but is there any site that's popped up to show what's been removed on both platforms?

[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

It was only a matter of time. Well now what are we waiting for ? Let's go after the easy target, CollectiveShout & end them & then use the example to "convince" payment processors to back off while simultaneously constructing alternatives

[–] REDACTED@infosec.pub 8 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Apparently payment processor. Singular. Stripe. Visa/MS never changed it's policy and still allows NSFW content, they're not even a payment processor. It feels a bit bonkers now that internet bombed them when they weren't even involved with this mess and it was just Stripe. On the bright side, itch.io already announced they're ditching them and are in talks with other payment processors.

[–] derin@lemmy.beru.co 7 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Can you post a source for this?

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[–] zzx@lemmy.world 5 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

What? I'm not sure if that's true, you seem to be the only person thinking this. Source?

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