An organization called Women in Games has expressed its disgust over a game on Steam that directly promoted sexual abuse. Consequently, they called on Valve to remove the controversial game called “No Mercy” from Steam.
The visual novel has “a huge focus on incest and male domination”—including players sleeping with their mom. The description on Steam encourages players to “own her” and proceed to become “every woman’s worst nightmare” and “leave no p**sy non-f**ked, since that’s the only thing they all want – never take ‘no’ for an answer”.
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The game’s Steam page includes disturbing images of chocking, and clearly states that the game “graphically contains sex and violence, mature language, nudity, graphic depictions of oral, vaginal, and other sexual activities” and “includes incest, blackmail, unavoidable non-consensual sex, as well as the use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes.”
CEO of Women in Games Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman harshly condemned the game and called on Valve to “act urgently” and take down the game from Steam. According to Isaaman, the content of the game “is not only vile and dangerous, but also actively promotes the dehumanization of women and girls.”
“The fact that a game like this is available on Steam — one of the world’s largest gaming platforms — is utterly unacceptable. It sends a clear and distressing message: that violence against women is not only tolerable, but playable. That message has no place in our industry, our communities, or our society.
“We call on Valve Corporation, the owners of Steam, to act urgently. This game must be removed. Stronger content moderation policies must be implemented. And a zero-tolerance stance on misogyny and hate must be visibly enforced. Women and girls deserve better from this industry. We invite all allies to stand with us — to speak up, act, and support the future of a safe and inclusive gaming world.”
Steam has pulled down No Mercy, but…
No Mercy has been removed from Steam in some regions including the UK, Australia, and Canada. The UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the LBC radio talk show that the “sort of vile material… is already currently illegal”, adding: “We have stronger powers being brought in as part of the online safety act to make sure that platforms of all kinds meet certain standards.”
In the past, Valve administered an outright ban for games with explicit content. Eventually, the platform started reversing some bans and issuing apologies, according to a GamesIndustry.biz report at that time. In 2018, the platform added an Adult Only filter to Steam which sort of legalized adult games on the platform. Players were also provided with tools that could help them block such games.
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Nevertheless, there is no clear rule on games that can or cannot be published on Steam. However, the platform prohibits games that “promote hatred, violence or discrimination against groups of people based on ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation, and content that is patently offensive or intended to shock or disgust viewers”.
It is up to the platform to handle each grievance on a case-by-case basis. The developer Zerat Games posted a lengthy message on April 10, in response to the report that the game has been removed from some regions. The studio defended the game saying male domination and other features in the game are popular “kink”.
“I fully understand that for many people such things may be disgusting, but during sex, people should really do what they want, as long as they don’t harm anyone,” said Zerat Games.
“If after reading [our statement] you still believe that such a game should not have been created, then we sincerely apologize to you. At the same time, we would like you to be a bit more open to human fetishes that don’t harm anyone, even though they may seem disgusting to you. This is still just a game, and although many people are trying to make it into something more, it remains and will continue to be a game.”
