Mastercard and Valve have entered into a dispute regarding the pressure placed on game distribution platforms concerning payment processing policies. It’s Steam developer Valve that appears to be the most furious. It challenges its own per-payer rate, pointing to its unsuccessful negotiations with payment processors. This clash stems from Mastercard’s heavy-handed policies prohibiting activity identified as illegal or harmful to its reputation.
Valve said that payment processors listed “risk to the mastercard brand” as the reason for denying their applications. Against all these changes, Valve spoke up. They wrote, “Mastercard did not reach out to us directly, though we encouraged them to engage with us.” Mastercard began outreach to payment processors and their corresponding acquiring banks. The payment processors communicated Valve these concerns. In our reply, we described Steam’s policy, as it has been since 2018, and our dedication to distributing all games that can be distributed legally.
Since 2018, Steam has had a hands-off policy of distributing anything as long as it’s legal. The current battle against payment processors such as Mastercard and American Express is making it hard to operate. Steam and other platforms have recently struggled with the burgeoning trend of adult content in gaming, as well.
Itch.io is promising to re-index free adult content games. The platform is now working with multiple payment processors, including Stripe, on making this possible. Stripe has expressed limitations, stating it is “unable to support sexually explicit content” due to concerns raised by its “banking partners.”
In response to reporting on their controversial policy, Mastercard has been adamant that they do not ban game developers. It highlights that merchants should be required to maintain safeguards to block illegal transactions completed with Mastercard network cards. In a follow-up, a Mastercard spokesperson further explained that the company had not assessed any games. They have not banned any development on activity surrounding game developer hubs and marketplaces, despite recent media rumors and claims. They stated, “At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.”
At the same time, digital platforms are facing their own existential crisis. They need to reconcile their content moderation policies with the pressures from payment processors and financial services companies. That’s because Steam is heavily constrained by the rules imposed by its payment processors. Accordingly, certain games that are rich in diversity, originality, creativity, and innovation are excluded due to not complying with these narrowed guidelines.
All of the stakeholders in the gaming industry continue to responsibly discuss payment policies. These policies would have a drastic effect on what kinds of content could be distributed on platforms such as Steam and Itch.io.
