Even then, you get into muddy grey areas, because people have had these real life experiences and should have the right to make art about them. So just blanket banning games with these themes doesn’t work either cause you might end up banning a genuine artistic exploration of a survivor.

You really HAVE to go on a case by case basis to evaluate what is being communicated and how. This is why genuine human oversight and moderation is essential.

That‘s also why laws are often actually quite vaguely written and allow for lots of wiggle room, for experts like judges and attorneys to determine if laws were actually broken. Once you put down very precise language, you run the risk of affecting people you didn’t intend to affect.

Obviously I don’t want exploitative content on these platforms either, but the solution should be closer to a rating board authority than a line in the sand imo.

And, again, payment processors should have absolutely no say over artistic expression.

Yeah I don't think anybody sane would defend CP or rape games, but if Visa or Mastercard can arbitrarily decide what meet their "standards" what's to stop them banning any number of mainstream releases that feature regular sex or nudity, or to take things a step further, what's to stop them banning any game that goes against their political opinions?

A bank or payment processor should not be the all-powerful arbiter of what art people are allowed to consume, period.

Mastercard responds: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2025/august/clarifying-recent-headlines-on-gaming-content.html

"Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations. 

Our payment network follows standards based on the rule of law. Put simply, we allow all lawful purchases on our network. At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content."

Here's the thing though; a lot of the content being blocked is not illegal. Some of it may be distasteful, but adult content in itself is not against the law, at least not in most of the developed world.

Meanwhile, Mastercard and VISA both continue to process payment for actually illegal gambling sites: https://readwrite.com/illegal-gambling-websites-beseige-internet-as-mastercard-and-visa-still-process-payments/