Saint Gabe and His Steam Are Under Attack by Top British Press: Turns Out, Freedom of Speech on the Platform is Evil!
A top British news outlet reports that Steam has for years allowed abuse and bigotry to go unpunished, despite this violating the platform's own rules. Transgender game developers are particularly frequent targets. Moderation is not working, and this threatens both creators and players.
Game designer Natalie Lawhead spent two years trying to remove abusive reviews of her games. One called her a "liar," another contained an anti-Semitic remark. Moderators left both reviews up both times, citing a reluctance to engage in censorship. Lawhead had to ask her followers for help and personally contact a Valve employee to get them removed. "This whole process is broken," she says.
Other developers become victims of coordinated curator attacks. The author of the game Coven encountered a review that didn't mention his game at all—only the political stance. This triggered an avalanche of negative reviews. Steam Support found no violations.
Projects with LGBTQ+ (banned in the Russian Federation) characters regularly end up on curator lists like "NO WOKE." Developer Amy Lefevre quotes a review of her game: "Too much LGBTQ. These sad gays and lesbians have no future." Valve's refusal to moderate such content turns the platform into a cultural war battleground.
Developers can't leave Steam—the platform brings millions of users, and publishers don't take games seriously if they aren't there. Valve does not disclose moderation details.
Developer Fi has been unsuccessfully trying to remove transphobic reviews since 2021. Support suggested she rely on the helpfulness system. The reviews are still up. Ratings directly affect a game's visibility, so one negative review can cost it success.
Lawhead sums it up: "If I want to stay on Steam, I will have to go through this procedure every time I want to complain about harassment. This shouldn't be the norm."