Online game marketplaces itch.io and Valve’s Steam have recently delisted or completely removed more than 20,000 titles from their storefronts, after not-for-profit group Collective Shout pressured payment processors to change their rules.

Although Collective Shout claims the move was about censoring games that depict rape and incest content, a number of LGBTQIA creators have been caught in the purge.

I am a queer, trans woman and game designer who studies inclusivity. LGBTQIA creators have long made games to express our stories. Such expression often necessarily engages with bodies and sexuality.

While content about us is seen by some as innately “harmful” and “sexual”, it is essential for wellbeing. Conservative groups have long aimed to censor our art, voices and games.

What makes the recent removals unusual is that they were not driven by government (which may be a separate problem in Australia and the United Kingdom).

Instead, they were driven by a supposed “anti-porn” group that frightened payment processors into undercutting online game storefronts’ own rules, resulting in itch.io reportedly delisting some 20,000 games, and Steam also removing

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