On July 2025, Steam, a popular storefront to purchase games on PC, and itch.io, a storefront that sells games, comics, tools, resources and much more, have recently delisted several NSFW games, after the group Collective Shout published an open letter to payment processors such as Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and more. As a result of this letter, payment processors have strongarmed Valve and itch.io.
Collective Shout's actions have pushed payment processors to force both Valve and itch.io to delist NSFW games, which has overreached into delisting several games using sensitive topics for artistic purposes and LGBTQ+ games. Collective Shout has already demanded the removal of mainstream AAA games such as Detroit : Become Human and Grand Theft Auto 5, wrongfully claiming that these games are exclusively about violence against women. Read more
Payment processors have caved to the outcry of a small, right-wing puritanical group who wants to dictate what adults can or cannot buy with their own money, and is setting a dangerous precedent that threatens the future of independent art on the internet. Many livelihoods are at risk because of the outcry of a niche of people who seek to restrict artistic freedom. With your help, we can speak louder.
Below are petitions and forms you can fill in. If there are enough forms filled or petitions signed, actions may be taken by the parties in order to help our cause.
Below is a list of phone numbers and e-mails that are publicly available on the websites of the payment processors, compiled for convenience. It is recommended to prioritize phone numbers over e-mail, as e-mails could easily be filtered out by the company. Be polite when talking to customer support. If possible, do not leave personal information.
Do not harass anyone, please.
You should keep in mind while reaching out to them that their bottom line is what matters to them. Below is an example script you can when contacting a payment processor, it's written to hit as many points as possible that they would see as a threat to their bottom line. It is recommended to use this as a template and write your own script prior to calling.
Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME HERE] and I am calling to make a formal complaint about a policy that [PAYMENT PROCESSOR] currently holds.
[PAYMENT PROCESSOR] has recently pressured platforms like Steam and itch.io to remove content at the behest of a small group that does not represent me, the userbase of these platform or the population at large. It is not a payment processor's role to decide what kind of content I can or cannot spend my money on, so long as it is a legal transaction. Your policy decisions are in the way of my right to spend my money how I see fit. Your policies are unlawful, and seek to hurt legitimate businesses. I urge [PAYMENT PROCESSOR] to revert this policy immediately.
Additionally, groups like Collective Shout, NCOSE, AVPA and Exodus Cry do not speak for me, the users of Steam and itch.io or the rest of the population.
If [PAYMENT PROCESSOR] continues to impede on legitimate businesses, free speech and users' freedom to purchase legal goods, I will press to as many opportunistic law firms as possible and kick off a class action lawsuit against your company, as well as support any politicians or political party who are going to put regulations and legislations against your company's anti-consumer practices.
Stripe is currently a major priority, as they have the ability to deny itch.io's eligibility to their services according to itch.io's owner.
Unfortunately, PayPal doesn't have any e-mail address, as it uses its website's customer support. You will need to log in to your PayPal account if you wish to access Customer Support lines or messages. Here's a few lines we found so far :
While we try to find more phone numbers, e-mails and people we can reach out to, here are a few additional links that offer more options to help stop payment processors from censoring video games.