An Australian group against the exploitation of women and girls has joined a global chorus calling on CEOs of major payment platforms to stop the purchase of online games with disturbing content.
Collective Shout has called on the leaders of Paypal, Mastercard, Visa, Paysafe Limited, Discover and Japan Credit Bureau to take action after an investigation found 500 games on hosting sites like Steam and Itch.io featured themes of sexual assault, incest, and child abuse.
In it, they argued that people should be free to engage in such fantasies, and that roleplaying would reduce actual offending.
Ambassador Kelly Humphries, a former police officer and abuse survivor, said digital platforms needed to address the issue of abuse in games.
“The monetisation of this kind of content is not only morally indefensible, it may also breach legal and classification standards,” she said.
“We must draw the line, hold those responsible to account, and call out organisations and individuals who enable or profit from the continued normalisation of abuse and exploitation of any person, but particularly women and girls.
“What may appear to some as just a game is, for far too many, a lived and devastating reality.”
In 2024, Steam’s online revenue hit a record $10.8 billion (US $7 billion), with around 132 million monthly active users.
Data on revenue earned by Itch.io is unclear, however, with the hosting site describing itself as an open marketplace for independent game makers.
The open letter supported by Collective Shout is also endorsed by a number of advocacy groups including the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation (U.S.) and the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (UK).
“These games endorsing men’s sexualised abuse and torture of women and girls fly in the face of efforts to address violence against women,” the letter reads.
“We do not see how facilitating payment transactions and deriving financial benefit from these violent and unethical games, is consistent with your corporate values and mission statements.
“We request that you demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games.”
According to Australian guidelines, games can be marketed under an R18+ rating, which permits the legal use of graphic [consenting] sexual activity, realistic nudity and strong sexual themes, but the content must not include sexual violence, depictions of minors, dangerous fetish content or non-consenting acts.
Australian laws, however, only apply within that country, and many gaming platforms are based overseas and don’t follow Australian guidelines.
The payment and gaming platforms were all contacted by The Epoch Times for comment.
