Itch and Steam delisting NSFW games

By now, most of you have likely heard that both itch.io and Steam have been forced to take down thousands of NSFW titles due to pressure from credit card payment providers. Lust Doll Plus was one of those titles.

There's quite a few topics out there already, explaining why this level of mass censorship is cause for major concern. Essentially, any works that doesn't align with religious conservative values is at risk of essentially being cancelled or removed, such as pornography, LGBTQ works, anything deviant or weird, inclusive works, etc.

It's VERY important to take action now and ensure this gets stopped where it is now. Not doing so could mean losing not just NSFW games, but also manga, anime, comics, art, shows, movies, the list goes on.

Here are some resources for more information:

https://bsky.app/profile/ithayla.bsky.social/post/3lusgctzmbk2y

https://stopcollectiveshout.com/

https://www.change.org/p/tell-mastercard-visa-activist-groups-stop-controlling-what-we-can-watch-read-or-play

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1man6dd/a_differing_viewpoint_on_how_to_handle_collective/

Here's some things that can be done to combat this:

Call Visa Corporation's customer service, at (800) 847-2911‬. Ask to speak to an American. Tell that American, politely, that you aren't comfortable with Visa trying to control what you're allowed to purchase, and that you're responding by asking your vendors to support other credit cards, and by not using their cards where possible until they stop. Remind them that this isn't the first time they've tried to do this, and that several times laws have been passed to rein them in from trying to control the nation.

Numbers:

Mastercard (US): +1-914 249-2000 Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111 Visa (US + Can): +1 (650) 432-3200 Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440 PayPal: +44-0203-901-7000

Mastercard (Aus): 1800-120-113

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372 Mastercard (CA): 1-800-307-7309 Mastercard (UK): 0800-96-4767

Call your bank and complain that you aren't comfortable with a third party controlling what you purchase, and that you're considering taking your credit card traffic (their #1 source of income) away from them. Remind them that you can buy Law and Order: Special Victims Unit without difficulty, which makes the presumption wholesale invalid from day one.

Sign those petitions. Collective Action is 40,000 people in a different country. One of those petitions is a week old and already at 170,000 people. If a petition that says "kindly fuck off" hits a million people, Visa will realize that they're very much financially on the wrong side of this, and change their mind.