Danica Davidson
July 25, 2025 
After Steam pulled a bunch of video games due to receiving pressure from credit cards like Visa and Mastercard (who in turn were receiving pressure from pro-censorship groups like Collective Shout), game website itch.io has also been affected.
“We have ‘deindexed’ all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages,” itch.io explained on its website. “We understand this action is sudden and disruptive, and we are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change.”
In the post itch.io pointed fingers directly at Collective Shout:
“Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io. Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organization Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms.”
It continued, “Our ability to process payments is critical for every creator on our platform. To ensure that we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritize our relationship with our payment partners and take immediate steps towards compliance.”
The website called all of this “challenging” and asked for patience and understanding.
Some gamers who are upset by this are pointing to the Fair Access to Banking Act, which was introduced in the Senate earlier this year, and asking people to call on their representatives about supporting it. It reads:
This bill places restrictions on certain banks, credit unions, and payment card networks if they refuse to do business with a person who complies with the law. Restrictions include prohibiting the use of electronic funds transfer systems and lending programs, termination of an institution’s depository insurance, and specified civil penalties.
Banks and other specified financial institutions are allowed to deny financial services to a person only if the denial is justified by a documented failure of that person to meet quantitative, impartial, risk-based standards established in advance by the institution. This justification may not be based upon reputational risks to the institution.
The bill establishes the right for a person to bring a civil action for a violation of this bill.
There is also a petition at Change.org titled “Tell MasterCard, Visa & Activist Groups: Stop Controlling What We Can Watch, Read, or Play” that has nearly 88,000 signatures as of this writing, hoping to help itch.io, Steam and other platforms.
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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