Steam has revised its adult content guidelines, adding new rules that align with third-party payment processors like Stripe and Visa. The update appears in the Steamworks onboarding documentation and could significantly impact how adult content is published and monetised on the platform.
Developers who fail to follow the Steam adult content guidelines may risk payment issues or platform rejection.
New Rules in Steam Adult Content Guidelines
The revised section, titled “What you shouldn’t publish on Steam,” now includes a clear directive:
“Content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks, or internet network providers. In particular, certain kinds of adult-only content.”
This means that developers must now ensure their content complies not only with Steam’s own standards but also with the rules of services like Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, which power payments on the platform.
How Steam Adult Content Guidelines Reflect Global Payment Pressures
This policy shift isn’t happening in isolation. In January 2025, Manga Planet publicly revealed that its Stripe account was banned due to R18 (Restricted 18+) content hosted on its subscription service. The incident sparked concern among other digital publishers relying on similar platforms.
In Japan, especially, multiple websites and marketplaces have been forced to restrict or remove adult content due to payment denial from global credit card companies. Affected platforms include:
- Nico Nico
- Melonbooks
- Toranoana
- DLSite (blocked American Express payments)
- Fantia
- Manga Library Z
- Fanza
These sites faced transaction refusals and service disruptions, often without clear guidance from payment processors. As a result, publishers have been left in a precarious position, balancing compliance, artistic expression, and monetisation.
NicoNico Ends Its Mature Illustration Service
Further reinforcing this trend, Niconico ended its Shunga mature illustration service on January 29, citing a combination of:
- Social pressure
- Global regulatory concerns
- Payment service limitations
The company said it was becoming increasingly difficult to operate such a service in today’s international environment.
What Payment Providers Are Saying
Cietan Kitney, President of Visa Worldwide Japan, acknowledged the delicate situation in a December 2024 interview. While Visa aims to support legitimate businesses, he explained:
“We want to make our payment service available to legal and legitimate products and services as much as possible. However, we may sometimes decline purchases to protect the brand.”
This statement sheds light on the vague and shifting boundaries that developers, artists, and publishers must navigate when creating adult or mature-themed digital content.
Final Thoughts
Steam’s updated policy reflects a growing trend: content moderation is now deeply intertwined with global financial networks. Whether creators like it or not, payment processors are playing a larger role in shaping the boundaries of digital expression.
Developers publishing on Steam must stay informed, not just of Valve’s internal policies, but also of the evolving expectations of banks, card networks, and international norms.
Blurstory will continue tracking how these changes impact indie devs, adult content creators, and platforms around the world.
Source – Steamworks
