There may be a glimmer of hope for the ongoing video game industry payment processor crisis, which has thrown the livelihoods of creatives worldwide into question. This potential rescue is coming from an interesting place too. Not untraceable crypto currency, nor EU legislation, but a strong warning by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC is an independent US institution with a variety of responsibilities, including handling consumer protection and antitrust laws and dishing out penalties to companies who act against the wellbeing of the American public. The FTC has, as of this week, warned payment processors like Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, and PayPal they cannot deny service due to “political or religious views”.
The letter, penned by FTC chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, reads: “Full participation in commerce and public life necessarily requires that law-abiding individuals can access, and freely participate in, our financial system.
“It is inconsistent with American values to deny law-abiding individuals the ability to run their legitimate businesses and feed their families because they attracted the ire of rogue American officials, overzealous activists, or, more worryingly, foreign governments seeking to control public discourse,” Ferguson continued. “That is why President Trump’s August 7, 2025, Executive Order on debanking makes clear that it is unacceptable to debank law-abiding citizens due to ‘political affiliations, religious beliefs, or lawful business activities.”
Now, putting political beliefs aside, institutional pressure on payment processors may go a long way in aiding those in the video game industry who attracted the ire of these companies. Indie game platform Itch.io stopped showing NSFW games to users, with Stripe stating it could not “support sexually explicit content due to restrictions placed on them by their banking partners”.
Valve too had to alter the sorts of games being shown on Steam, after claiming Mastercard pressured the company to make changes, something Mastercard denied doing. This caused an understandable outcry from game developers and players alike, with queer developers speaking out due to the vilification of works they created, and the potential (and sometimes real) attacks on their income.
So while the American FTC may not be the source of saving grace you’d expect, it’s possible payment processors will lighten up a bit on the restrictions placed on storefronts and developers. Only time will tell.
