UK’s greatest gaming platform pulls a whole bunch of rape & incest video games after LBC…

6 August 2025, 06:00 | Updated: 6 August 2025, 12:29

Hundreds of rape and incest video games have been faraway from the UK’s greatest on-line gaming platform Steam after they have been highlighted by LBC, although titles that includes sexual abuse are nonetheless obtainable regardless of current adjustments within the legislation.

In April, we revealed a surprising grownup simulation recreation referred to as “No Mercy” was obtainable to obtain with minimal age checks.

It centred round a male protagonist who was inspired to “become every woman’s worst nightmare”, and “never take no for an answer”.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, who’s answerable for overseeing the federal government’s on-line security technique, described the sport as “deeply worrying” and demanded the tech large take it down, earlier than its developer Zerat Games voluntarily eliminated it from sale, bowing to stress from LBC.

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But our reporting highlighted a whole bunch of rape and incest video games have been nonetheless obtainable on Steam to obtain, regardless of the platform’s personal guidelines banning “adult content that isn’t appropriately labelled or age gated,” and “content that is patently offensive or intended to shock or disgust viewers.”

The pointers have been expanded final month to incorporate “content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors” together with “certain kinds of adult content”.

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It means nearly 80% of titles which confirmed up beneath the search phrases “rape” or “incest” have been faraway from the world’s greatest on-line recreation retailer.

This quantities to a whole bunch of excessive video games.

However, LBC has been capable of finding video games involving incest, “non-consensual” intercourse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, “dubious consent” and “unwanted groping” nonetheless obtainable on Steam, regardless of Ofcom’s Online Safety Act (OSA) stipulating that “illegal content” that includes excessive pornography, controlling or coercive behaviour, and harassment, stalking threats and abuse should be faraway from websites working within the UK.

But OSA would not cowl video games which do not have a player-to-player chat operate. Ofcom mentioned: “Not all video games are in-scope of the Online Safety Act. Where they’re, our supervision groups have ongoing discussions with the gaming trade to make sure compliance.”

“The most controversial titles, the ones that we were most concerned about, have been taken off the platform,” says LBC’s expertise correspondent Will Guyatt. 

“There is a situation here where some people seem to think that these games that promoted rape promoted all of these kind of terrible, terrible themes … should be allowed back on these platforms … if anybody thinks it’s appropriate for a rape fantasy video game to exist, they should have a long hard chat with themselves.”

Steam’s elimination of essentially the most excessive titles got here shortly earlier than the OSA was rolled out additional in July, with new Children Codes requiring sturdy age-checks for grownup content material.

But the video games have been deleted as a result of of monetary stress reasonably than Ofcom or the UK authorities. Valve – Steam’s father or mother firm – mentioned it was not too long ago informed that “certain games” could “violate the rules and standards set forth by our payment processors and their related card networks and banks…as a result, we are retiring those games from being sold on the Steam Store”.

“I think it makes clear that money always talks,” Lorna Woods, an professional advisor to the Online Safety Act Network – an unbiased physique monitoring the implementation of the OSA – informed LBC.

“We’ve seen this before…a couple of years ago, Pornhub changed its approach to content moderation following restrictions imposed by payment service operators. It’s an essential part of their business. It stops the money flow andthat’s always going to attract their attention”.

The OSA offers Ofcom the ability “in the most severe” breaches of the code to hunt a courtroom order imposing “business disruption measures”.

This may imply asking a cost or promoting supplier to withdraw from the enterprise’ service, or asking an web service supplier to restrict entry to be able to stress a platform to conform.

“It gives Ofcom the opportunity to cut the money flow in a way,” says Ms Woods. “So potentially this is quite a strong mechanism”.

Thousands of avid gamers have criticised the elimination of the grownup titles, blaming ‘interference’ from Mastercard and Visa. Nearly 250,000 folks have signed a petition demanding cost processors “stop controlling what we can watch, read, or play”.

Mastercard has informed LBC the corporate has “not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms” however “requires merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content”.

Visa declined to remark, however pointed us to its Network Integrity pointers which outlines its “tireless pursuit to keep illegal [adult] activity off our network”.

PayPal says the corporate would not touch upon particular person buyer accounts, however “will take appropriate action when we identify activity that violates the law, our policies, or the policies of our partner banks and card networks”.