Remember when Mastercard pressured Steam to remove a bunch of NSFW games? The FTC says that's not cool—sort of

The US Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to the CEOs of Mastercard,Visa, PayPal, and Stripe, raising concerns about "financial services companies denying their customers access to services due to their political or religious views," and warning that they could face investigations and "potential enforcement action" if they're found to be doing so.

The move comes less than a year after Valve said Mastercard pressured it to remove a number of NSFW games from Steam. Mastercard countered by saying it "has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms," and that it allows "all lawful purchases." The net result was a ball of confusion in which Mastercard did not have a direct hand in the removal of games, but payment processors—who use Mastercard's technology and network to actually facilitate transactions—forced the matter because of Mastercard's policies, specifically in that instance, rule 5.12.7, "illegal or brand-damaging transactions."

In the letters sent to the four CEOs (via XBiz, a very NSFW website), FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson wrote that "full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system."

"Mastercard’s services include, among [other] things, processing payments made through credit cards and debit cards through its card network," Ferguson wrote. "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."

I'm obliged to note here that Ferguson and the FTC aren't riding to the rescue of beleaguered gamers with this move. The FTC said the letters are essentially reminders of an executive order issued by US president Donald Trump in August 2025, which cited "financial institutions [who] participated in Government-directed surveillance programs targeting persons participating in activities and causes commonly associated with conservatism and the political right following the events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021."

Ferguson repeated that assertion in his announcement of the letters on X:

I don't imagine the MAGA crowd has much sympathy for indie and adult game creators who are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their audience. But intentional or not, the letters and the underlying order could benefit those creators: As noted by XBiz, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a report following Trump's 2025 EO which cited adult entertainment as one of nine "industry sectors subjected to restricted access by the nation's largest banks."

It's also notable that Ferguson specifically said in his letter to Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach that Mastercard must not "countenance unlawful debanking by members that process transactions on its network," which effectively describes what happened with Steam in 2025: Mastercard itself had no direct hand in the matter, but the payment processors Steam relies on specifically cited Mastercard's policies on "illegal or brand-damaging transactions" as the reason for demanding that games be removed from the platform.

Still, as XBiz pointed out, while this certainly looks like movement in the right direction—regardless of what motivated it—there's no guarantee of anything. A proposed rule change that would eliminate "reputation risk" from regulatory programs would not impact the ability of financial institutions "to make business decisions regarding its customers or third-party arrangements and to manage them effectively, consistent with safety and soundness and compliance with applicable laws." That's vague, and that leaves payment processors a lot of wiggle room to continue with their practices as they see fit.

I've reached out to Valve and the FTC to ask about the impact of these letters in the context of adult videogames on Steam, and will update if I receive a reply.