How Steam censors LGBTQ+ content on behalf of the Russian Government, 27/11/2025
When Roskomnadzor calls, Valve answers
We reveal how Steam censors LGBTQ+ content in video games on behalf of Russia’s censorship agency
Ubisoft and Tencent deal done after a week of financial speculation
Nintendo Switch 2 bundles top our picks of the Black Friday deals
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Speaking of news reporting…
The big read - How Steam censors LGBTQ+ content on behalf of the Russian Government
Censored: Last year, PC Gamer reported that Steam had removed hundreds of games from its store in Russia on the orders of local mass media censorship body Roskomnadzor. Neither Steam nor the censor revealed what content was removed, nor the process behind its removal.
Scoop: Now, VGIM can exclusively reveal how Roskomnadzor orders stores to remove games, how it targets LGBT+ content, and the extent to which Steam supports the censorship goals of the Russian state.
Present and correct: Flick Solitaire, a card game featuring LGBTQ+ themed decks developed by UK-based Flick Games, had quietly operated in Russia through Google Play and the App Store since 2020.
Noticed, served: But just four weeks after Flick Solitaire launched on Steam in October 2025, Flick Games received messages from Steam, Apple, and Google informing it that Russian censors had ordered the removal of its game for promoting “non-traditional” relationships in the country.
Paralysis Decision: While the mobile storefronts allowed the game to remain online, Steam removed it from the Russian version of its store before chastising the developer for failing to follow “applicable laws” in the country. In doing so, it has raised fears that Valve’s lax content moderation policies are being weaponised by autocracies - promoting their worldview at the expense of freedom of speech and expression.
Pride, not self-censorship
Showing their cards: Flick Solitaire was first released in June 2020 on iOS and Android. The game, which has been downloaded over a million times on the Play Store, allows people to enjoy “awesome interpretations” of solitaire games like Klondike and Spider Solitaire. It also lets players collect and play with different deck designs to customise the appearance of their games.
A platform for good: Flick Solitaire has promoted the work of several LGBTQ+ artists via its deck designs. London artist Amee Wilson created a Queer Chameleon deck, packed with rainbow coloured lizards. Ollie T designed a deck themed around real-life drag performers. Swedish artist Karin Hammarsten offered players cards full of queer mermaids and pirates.
Counter-narrative: The game has been available to players in Russia since it launched five years ago. It’s also proven popular with players across the country, with Flick Games telling us that it was its second-largest market in terms of player count. And even though the company demonetised the game following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the studio kept the game online to offer hope to Russian members of the LGBTQ+ community whose government had branded them as “extremists”.
No self-censorship: “Since launching Flick Solitaire, it has been available in 40+ countries that criminalise LGBTQ+ people. Russia is only one of these,” explains Ian Masters, the founder of Flick Games. “As we started adding decks that celebrated Pride, or were created by out queer artists, we did not self-censor in any of these countries. It’s incredibly important that LGBTQ+ people in these countries can see that other LGBTQ+ people exist, that it’s 100% normal and should even be celebrated.”
Quiet influence: For many years, Flick Solitaire remained on Russian storefronts without fuss. The game continued to attract downloads. Players kept playing the game. None of the mobile stores stopped users from downloading it.
Ahead of Steam: But in Autumn 2025, Flick Games decided to expand the market for the game by bringing it to PC. And shortly after doing so, it found its LGBTQ+ content under attack from Roskomnadzor and the storefront that it thought would expand its audience: Steam.
The route to censorship
Launch day: On October 1, 2025, Flick Solitaire launched in early access on Steam, including in Russia. Flick Games confirmed to VGIM that it had demonetised the title in the region, while noting that it cannot block platform-level features like Steam Wallet that could allow players to circumvent its monetisation block.
Shut down notice: On 28th October, less than four weeks after the game had launched on Steam, Roskomnadzor found its way to Flick Games’ door. The company received three official notices from the censor through its support email. Apple, Google, and its web host were all sent CC’d emails with formal notices from the censor ordering the immediate removal of Flick Solitaire from their platforms.
Deeply disturbing: The notice cited Wilson, Ollie T, and Hammarsten’s decks as examples of content that contravened a 2006 Federal Law “promoting non-traditional sexualities.” It went on to equate LGBTQ+ content with paedophilia, a deliberate slur designed to undermine the community, before ordering all of the stores to take Flick Solitaire offline.
Deep sadness: I asked Masters what he felt when the notices landed in his inbox. “Instantly sick to my stomach,” he said. “[It was] like we’re being attacked. All kinds of things go through your mind. Everything from ‘what is our liability’, to deep sadness that such oppression exists at such a scale.”
Decision time: However, Roskomnadzor’s influence over content is actually comparatively limited. It might be able to order the removal of games under its law, but it requires stores that are based outside of the country to enact its will. And in the case of Flick Games, two of the stores that were ordered to remove content held firm in the face of the censor’s order.
Holding the line: Google did not respond to Roskomnadzor’s request to remove it from Google Play. Apple informed Flick Games that it had received a note from the censor, but reassured them separately that Roskomnadzor’s letter did not affect the studio’s standing with the platform. At the time of writing, Flick Solitaire remains available to download in Russia on Android and iOS.
Giving in: However, things went differently on Steam. Valve’s storefront sent a message to the team saying that the game “was determined by Roskomnadzor to be in violation of Russian requirements for distribution.” It immediately added a country restriction to Flick Solitaire to take it off the Russian store, without offering the developer the chance to appeal or contest the decision.
Telling off: And to rub salt in the wound, the company added that Flick Games “promised Valve under the Steam Distribution Agreement that your game complies with all applicable laws.” In short, the company blamed Flick Games for failing to follow the Russian government’s attempts to criminalise the LGBTQ+ community. If that’s not a worrying position for one of the most influential video game stores in the world to take, we don’t know what is.
Everything goes?
Right of reply: VGIM contacted Valve about the removal of Flick Solitaire from Steam. We asked why it removed the game and the nature of its relationship with Roskomnadzor. We received no response.
Challenge made: Masters, however, was clear that Valve needs to do more to protect LGBTQ+ content to defend democratic free speech. “It’s massively important,” he said, in response to a VGIM question about Steam’s decision to ban the game. “This isn’t ‘wokeness’, it’s basic human rights and equality and nothing more. If Steam can’t support free speech of LGBTQ+ people, then at the very least they should be transparent about this.”
Whose side are you on?: Out Making Games also expressed its concerns over the removal of Flick Solitaire. The non-profit organisation, which describes its mission as empowering LGBTQ+ professionals within the games industry, described Steam’s stance as “deeply disturbing.” It said that the platform’s decision was “even more surprising given the country in question is Russia, the perpetrator of an ongoing, illegal war.” It also criticised Steam’s decision to remove the game without speaking to the developer first. “It appears they just banned a title from a queer-owned studio, with no warning.”
A problematic policy: And while we can’t say for sure why Valve banned the game without a dialogue with the developer, we can say that its content moderation policy - which allows “everything” on its store that isn’t defined as “trolling” or “illegal” - is a gift to autocrats who have weaponised the law to achieve their ends. It bans LGBTQ+ content in Russia when ordered to by the government, while censoring sexual content in the West under pressure from payment processors. But it won’t block blatantly Russian-backed disinformation games like Squad 22: ZOV, unless a country has passed laws to ban specific propaganda (e.g. two German states banning ‘Z’ as a hate symbol).
Time for regulatory action?: As it stands, Steam’s content moderation policies actively strengthen censorship bodies like Roskomnadzor at the expense of its players, its developers, and democracy at large. And with the platform consistently showing that it can’t (and frankly doesn’t want to) get its house in order, it is time for digital content regulators and policy makers to finally bring the Wild West of the global games industry under regulatory control.
News in brief
Bon marché: Tencent has finally sealed a deal with Ubisoft to take a 26.32% stake in Vantage Studios, the company’s new subsidiary that houses the Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry franchises. The Chinese games giant invested €1.16 billion into Vantage. Ubisoft had previously announced a debt of €1.15 billion. Handy, eh?
Going dark Down Under: Australia’s pioneering (and controversial) social media ban comes into force in two weeks, with the industry preparing to navigate its uneven effects on players. Twitch, Kick, and Reddit will all be off limits for under 16s, while Roblox, Discord and LEGO Play will remain accessible after the 10th December deadline. It remains to be seen whether further platforms will be caught in the net in the coming years.
Rocky Reasoning: Chris Bratt from People Make Games has revealed the private Discord messages that Rockstar Games claims contributed to the firing of 34 employees back in October. At the time, the company pushed back against union-busting accusations by saying the dismissals were due to “gross misconduct” as a result of studio leaks. But as Bratt’s piece shows, the posts appear to be mostly mundane chats about unionisation and internal communication practices - undermining Rockstar’s narrative.
PVP vs ICE: Megan Farokhmanesh has written a fascinating piece about activists using Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto to roleplay ICE raids. The events, organised by New Save Collective with Define American, aim to show players what to expect if they get caught in a raid and how to assert their rights if they do.
Paint(ress) it gold: Sandfall Interactive and their debut game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated the Golden Joystick Awards, winning the coveted Ultimate Game of the Year Award alongside six other gongs. The other big winner on the night was me, after I successfully stole/found Ben Starr’s Golden Joysticks-themed Balatro card outfit for a photo op.
Moving on
Mikkel Weider has been appointed the new CEO of Everyplay Group, kicking off the role in the New Year...Kim Swift has popped up as COO of Near Studios… Alex Forbes-Calvin is on the news beat at Games Industry Biz…Patrick Jarrett is the new Editor-in-Chief, Riftbound over at Riot Games…And Helen Johnson has been promoted to Membership Manager at Ukie…
Jobs ahoy
Roblox is hiring a General Manager, Europe…Red Bull is hunting for a Producer (Gaming)...Sega Europe needs a new Head of Brand Marketing…Paradox needs a Social Media Specialist in Stockholm...And Epic Games is hiring a Partnership Director - Sports & Talent for its office in Cary, North Carolina…
Events and conferences
Games Gathering, Kyiv - 27th-30th November
The Game Awards, Los Angeles - 11th December
Pocket Gamer Connects, London - 19th-20th January 2026
DICE Summit, Las Vegas - 11th-13th February 2026
Guildford Games Festival, Guildford - 14th February 2026
Games of the week - Black Friday special
Ghost of Yotei PS5 bundle - Get the game that everyone described as “better than Assassin’s Creed: Shadows” and a beautifully designed limited edition console for £429.99.
Nintendo Switch 2 starter kit - Buy a Switch 2 with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza for a pretty handy £439.
PCSPECIALIST Flux 600 - Nab a new gaming rig that Tom’s Hardware describes as “a powerful rig for gaming” that has “scope to upgrade later” for £1499 - saving you a grand in the process.
Before you go…
Thank you to everyone who attended the VGIM 2nd Birthday drinks last night, sponsored by Fifty, Renaissance PR, and the Games Rating Authority.
More than 80 VGIM readers had a great time meeting fellow subscribers, enjoying a drink, and having a slice of branded birthday cake.
We’ll be back with more events next year. Send me an email to george@videogamesindustrymemo.com if you’d like to find out about how to sponsor one.
Thanks to Anna Mahtani for production support