Activist Group Faces "Gamergate" Style Harassment Over Steam Adult Game Ban

Australian activist group Collective Shout has stated that its staff and directors are now being targeted with a wave of abuse they describe as "Gamergate"-style harassment.

The group, which recently campaigned against adult games on platforms like Steam and Itch.io containing extreme sexual content, says the backlash has gone far beyond criticism and entered into threats of violence, doxxing, and coordinated attacks online.

From Campaign to Controversy

It all started in June-July, when Collective Shout published research, claiming to have found around 500 games across major digital platforms that involved themes such as rape, incest, sexual torture, and child exploitation.

The group argued that many of these titles would fall under Australia’s "Refused Classification" rating, making their distribution effectively illegal in the country.

To address this, the organization sent an open letter to payment processors, including Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal, asking them to cut services to platforms hosting such games.

Soon after, these payment companies pressured game stores to remove content that violated their rules. Both Steam and Itch.io responded by pulling thousands of titles.

While Collective Shout hailed the move as a victory against harmful content, many gamers and developers saw it as mass censorship. Entire studios lost revenue streams overnight, and some argued the campaign unfairly punished independent creators who had no involvement in the more extreme titles.

"Gamer Gate Returns?"

Following the campaign, Collective Shout reported being bombarded with "a misogynistic harassment campaign."

In a joint statement with the Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI), the group said staff members have been subjected to death threats, rape threats, deepfake pornography, and doxxing attempts.

According to OHPI’s review, some of these threats included detailed references to specific staff members, their families, and even personal routines.

As one employee described the situation to OHPI:

"When I googled my email address, I found my name and photo on 4chan. My work email address was listed.... with the words “RAPE THEM” underneath. One user wrote that he planned to stab me. Another shared an image of a person hanging from a noose, alongside my name. One shared my photo – taken from my Twitter/X profile – and asked who wanted to make a c*m tribute to me (where a man ejaculates on a photo of a woman.) A man on Twitter/X began following me and making threats against the women on our team. In a tweet, he published a list of all the staff on our small women-only team alongside the text “Have fun with this list y’all. Fight until they’re dead.” He also sent threats, including his desire to rape and murder the women on our team, and to “rape, hogtie and filet” us."

The OHPI concluded that this resembled a new wave of "Gamergate"-style harassment, comparing it to the notorious 2014 online movement that targeted women in the games industry with sustained abuse.

Are Toxic Gamers at Risk of Being Arrested?

Collective Shout and OHPI argue that the scale of the harassment has reached a point where local law enforcement alone cannot manage it.

In their report, they suggested that international cooperation — including communication between agencies like Australia’s Federal Police and the U.S. FBI — may be necessary to investigate threats.

"These are serious cases of cyber harassment, and there needs to be government responses, including international cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Threats of death and rape are not “free speech”, not even in the United States, where some of the trolls clearly come from."

It’s worth noting that Interpol does not directly arrest individuals, but rather acts as a coordination network between police forces in different countries. If pursued, this could mark one of the first times international policing is invoked in relation to harassment campaigns stemming from a gaming controversy.

The Divided Reaction

Reaction to these claims has been sharply divided. Supporters of Collective Shout, including a UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, have condemned the threats and voiced solidarity with the group. From their perspective, the harassment only proves why campaigns against violent and exploitative material are necessary.

On the other side, critics argue that Collective Shout is framing legitimate criticism as harassment. Some in the gaming community have accused the organization of "weaponizing victimhood," claiming that dissenters are being "unfairly lumped together" with those making threats.

Discussions on platforms like Reddit and Bluesky suggest that many gamers see the group’s push as "moral censorship dressed up as advocacy."

Impact on Developers

The backlash is not limited to online arguments. Independent developers who had games removed as part of this campaign report significant financial losses. Some legal commentators have even speculated about the possibility of a class action lawsuit in Australia, where developers could argue that Collective Shout’s actions caused direct economic harm.

Meanwhile, payment processors have doubled down on their policies. Paypal recently removed payment options on Steam in certain countries. Meanwhile, Mastercard has extended restrictions to cover any game that is "patently offensive" and lacking "serious artistic value." This has fueled fears among players that even mainstream titles could come under scrutiny.

Looking Ahead

For now, the situation is stuck in a stalemate. Collective Shout continues to call for donations and support, insisting that the harassment they face is proof of the toxic environment surrounding certain gaming subcultures. OHPI has pledged to assist them in reporting abusive material and pressuring social media platforms to take stronger action.

Gamers, on the other hand, warn that giving too much power to activist groups and payment processors risks setting a dangerous precedent — one where global financial systems dictate what kind of entertainment is acceptable.