‘Make all women yours’: Rape game available online for Australian children

Warning: Graphic content.

An online game which encourages players to sexually assault their in-game mother and “make all women yours” was available on a popular gaming platform accessed by Australian children.

Called No Mercy, the game was uploaded to Steam, a platform with millions of users cross the globe. It allows users to purchase and play games as well as chat with other gamers.

No Mercy was available on popular gaming platform Steam despite encouraging graphic sexual assault and violence towards women.

Cybersecurity experts and activists say they were disgusted to discover a game promoting incest, rape and concerning misogynistic views on the popular platform. No Mercy is just one of many games available on the platform containing rape and incest material.

It comes as a Geelong man was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $850,000 after police discovered he had created a child exploitation-themed video game which had thousands of subscribers. The game, which this masthead is not suggesting is connected to No Mercy, allowed players to simulate the sexual abuse of children.

Netflix’s hit show Adolescence has shone a spotlight on the toxic “manosphere” that children, particularly young boys, are exposed to online. The movement is associated with self-proclaimed sexist and anti-feminist Andrew Tate, who is accused of sexual assault and human trafficking.

In games such as No Mercy, these views are turned into a playable fantasy narrative.

“No Mercy is a choice-driven, adult visual novel with a huge focus on blackmail and male domination,” the description on Steam read.

“After your stepmother’s affair shatters your family, you take on a new role: not to fix what’s broken, but to claim her for yourself. Unveil her deepest secrets, subdue her and make all women in the game yours.”

Users needed to sign in and verify that they are over 18 to view the game. However, the platform doesn’t check IDs and children can easily lie about their age.

The game contains graphic nudity.

The Netflix drama Adolescence has fuelled the debate about toxic influences on young males.

“Bought the game a few days ago on Steam and couldn’t put it down,” one user said.

Collective Shout, a grassroots organisation which campaigns against sexualisation of children, complained to Steam and the Australian classification board, which found the game was unclassified and therefore illegal to sell in Australia.

It has since been removed from Steam in Australia but is available in other countries and on smaller game platforms.

Cybersecurity expert Susan McLean said the game is just one example of an internet culture of misogyny that targets young boys.

“This game is abhorrent. The platform should hang its head in shame for even offering it, let alone what goes through the mind of someone who creates this,” she said.

McLean believes many parents have a “not my child” attitude, which can blind them to the violent and extreme content their children are seeing online.

“One good thing about Netflix’s Adolescence is it has caused some parents to step up and look at what their sons are doing,” she said.

“There needs to be better regulations, there need to be better controls for parents to control what their kids are seeing.”

It’s not the first time Steam has published violent rape content. In 2019, a game called Rape Day was previewed on the platform in which the player controls a “menacing serial killer rapist”.

At the time, Steam pulled the game from release after public outcry, saying the game “poses unknown costs and risks”.

Valve, owner of Steam, was contacted for comment.

Misogynistic and violent pornography and games can be easily served up to young boys caught up in the manosphere as social media algorithms keep them inside an echo chamber of extreme content, sociologist Dr Jamilla Rosdahl said.

“Once they are in the manosphere, it can be very difficult to get out of it,” she said.

“[Pornography] is becoming increasingly violent … our research also shows that young people who have viewed this content have more narrow views on relationships, and more ideas about controlling behaviours towards girls and women are seen more as normal, something that real men should do.”

In a separate case, Geelong man Alec West, 32, was this month jailed for his role creating a child-abuse simulation which involved more than 140,000 child exploitation files.

Police also found child abuse content on his devices which involved real children. His assets, including high-end televisions and two vehicles, have been confiscated and will be sold by the Australian Federal Police.

“To make a game out of exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of our community is sickening, but knowing any profits have been stripped away and diverted to serving the community is a balm to the wound,” AFP Commander Jason Kennedy said.

A spokesperson for Australian online regulator eSafety said they were aware of games such as No Mercy, and had reached out to platforms including Steam to ensure they knew their obligations.

“Enforceable industry codes and standards are now in place requiring online services in Australia to tackle unlawful and seriously harmful material, including child sexual exploitation and abuse, terrorist content, and material that describes, depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with matters of extreme crime, cruelty or violence (including sexual violence).”

If you or someone you know needs help, phone Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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