FTC slaps wrist of financial providers who helped to pull NSFW games from Steam, itch.io

"Full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system."

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has contacted financial services providers Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, and PayPal following the forced removal of a range of not safe for work (NSFW) games from Steam and itch.io.

A swathe of titles were removed from games platforms back in July 2025 following a concerted action by Australian lobbyist Collective Shout. 

In letters sent to the CEOs of the four companies (as reported by the VERY NSFW XBiz), FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson stated that “full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system.”

Ferguson warned against “financial services companies denying their customers access to services due to their political or religious views,” warning that the organisations could face “potential enforcement action”.

“[A provider’s] services include, among [other] things, processing payments made through credit cards and debit cards through its card network,” Ferguson added. “Access to such infrastructure and services is essential for Americans’ participation in everyday commerce, and—directly or indirectly—for the exercise of core rights and freedoms.”

While the FTC is essentially defending a person’s right to play whatever law-abiding titles they choose, it appears to be doing so in the larger defence of US president Donald Trump.

Taking to social media, Ferguson said the letters were sent as “no one should be de-banked because of their political or religious views,” referring to an executive order signed by Trump defending the actions of those who stormed the US capital back on 6 January 2026.

While itch.io went to work attempting to reinstate as many NSFW games as possible starting in August 2025, most banned titles on Steam have remained that way. We’ll see how these letters impact the situation.