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Time of India
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
GTA 6 at risk of delisting? Adult games debate heats up for titles like Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row; netizens say 'It is Soviet stuff'
GTA 6, a.k.a. Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated game of all time, is scheduled to be released in May 2026; however, as the time of the launch nears, the rumours and leaks are also growing rapidly. Last week, a leak suggested that Rockstar Games is planning to delay the game even further to May 2026, leaving fans disappointed and furious. While the second lead says that the Rockstar is planning to roll out an age verification rule starting in the UK. Now, a new leak suggests that games like GTA VI and Saints Row are at risk of being delisted in the adult games debate. 'Adult games debate' has grown amid the gaming community recently In the past few weeks, a few topics in the gaming community have sparked discussions, and one of them is the 'adult games debate'. According to Insider Gaming, it was recently revealed that payment processors for some gaming outlets are cracking down on adult and NSFW (not safe for work) games. Amid the growing discussion, some activist responses have emerged in reaction to what is being called 'financial censorship' by certain payment providers and processors. One such example is GOG, which is a digital shopfront that briefly offered a bundle of adult-themed games for free as a form of protest. Following this, now there are growing concerns that titles like Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row, and Duke Nukem might also come under scrutiny, with payment processors potentially pushing for their removal from shopfronts. Risks that the adult gaming community may face According to GamingOnLinux, it was highlighted that a retro digital shopfront had come under pressure from payment processors aiming to restrict adult content. In a statement, the platform in question, ZOOM Platform, confirmed it had been 'targeted' as a part of this broader crackdown. The report went on to note that GamingOnLinux reportedly received an email from the ZOOM Platform team stating that they anticipate the delisting issue to widen. They specifically mentioned that games like Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, and Saints Row could be at risk. While Grand Theft Auto has long been a controversial franchise, its adult content comprises only a small portion of the game. It's certainly not one of those explicit titles tucked away in the collections of some niche Steam users. Netizens react to the 'Adult games debate' As soon as the update surfaced on social media, it quickly went viral, and fans shared their reactions. One said, "Wouldn't the attempt be the best-case scenario? Generally, adult game publishers don't have the financials to take this to court against the big payment once you start taking on big game companies, they have entire legal teams to fight this out." "Might be. I can see some indie porn games being delisted without much fuss, but there is no fucking way Rockstar and Take Two are going to sit quietly if GTA games are delisted," one replied. "GTA is "worse" in what you can do than most of the delisted games." "Between the UK adult content needing an ID and this visa mastercard shite im absolutely worried for the future" One joked, "Never thought I'd be alive to see this sort of censorship. Even if it's just an attempt. It's honestly Soviet stuff, this. Freedoms are genuinely being attacked here."
Metro
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
GTA 'at risk' of being removed from stores in adult game crackdown
A video game retailer has warned titles like GTA and Saints Row could be pulled from stores, as payment providers continue to take action against adult content. A number of gaming stores, including Steam and have recently taken action to remove certain types of adult games from their storefronts. This has been instigated by payment providers such as Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa, which have been cracking down on purchases related to adult content. While this has gone some way to removing so-called 'eSlop' from stores, it has sparked wider concerns around censorship at large – with legal adult-themed content being potentially impacted as well. Now, a retro games retailer named ZOOM Platform has echoed these concerns, and named titles like GTA, Saints Row, and Duke Nukem as being 'potentially at risk'. In a post from earlier this month, the team behind ZOOM Platform said one of their payment processors made them aware that a 'fellow member of the industry' was 'concerned about our content'. 'After we heard from the payment processor, we immediately engaged in lengthy discussions with both PayPal and Stripe,' the statement, titled Preserving and Protecting Artistic Freedom, reads. 'We worked with our contacts at the aforementioned payment processors to develop a tripartite solution to ensure the right to free speech and freedom of expression as well as protect the safety of our valued customers and partners.' Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. As a result of these negotiations, ZOOM Platform have implemented two-factor authentication to 'safeguard' accounts, along with a 'wallet system' so users can add funds to their account without needing external payment providers. 'We have no plans to remove any titles, and will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent such de-listings,' the platform added. 'We are fervent supporters of artistic freedom and always will be.' Following this announcement, games website GamingOnLinux received an email from the ZOOM Platform team stating that they expect these de-listings to expand further. From their discussions with payment providers, the company claims titles like 'Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, and Saints Row were described as potentially at risk'. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video At time of writing, ZOOM Platform only has Duke Nukem titles listed, so the company is likely referring to how these rules could impact other stores too. Rather than this being the idea of payment providers, it's believed they're acting under pressure from Australian organisation Collective Shout, which is 'against the objectification of women' and 'the pornification of culture'. However, after the actions of Steam and the organisation has since clarified that it only wanted to remove 'content that involved sexualised violence and torture of women', and not 'all NSFW' content. Mastercard has similarly distanced itself from the censorship controversy, at least in regards to Steam, claiming it had 'not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites', but Valve has disputed this. More Trending GTA and Saints Row have both been targeted for their sexually explicit nature over the years, and while they're certainly not suitable for minors, they're both a huge leap from some of the overtly explicit titles these measures are designed to take down. Both franchises are, hopefully, too popular to ever be removed from stores, especially when you consider the kind of backlash that would occur, but it is a worrying sign if these titles are being mentioned during talks with payment companies. GTA: San Andreas did come close to being effectively removed from sale in the US, during the Hot Coffee scandal in the mid-2000s, but since then it's never faced any serious legal opposition. The potential impact of these regulations has sparked a petition on which has accumulated over 230,000 signatures. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: PS6 will be 20% faster than next gen Xbox suggests leaked specs MORE: Fortnite's Power Rangers live action trailer is easily its best one ever MORE: A new Nintendo Direct is due this week and Silksong fans want a release date
