Australian child safety campaign scores victory in banning hundreds of sexually violent online games

Child safety campaigners are celebrating the removal of hundreds of sexually violent online games, despite a vicious backlash from angry gamers.

Melinda Tankard Reist, the founder of Collective Shout, has managed to have hundreds of sexually violent video games removed – but now she’s being trolled by angry gamers. Picture: Newswire / Gary Ramage

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Hundreds of sexually violent online games that let players role-play rape, incest and the torture of women and children have been suddenly removed from the global gaming platform Steam.

In a victory for child safety campaigners, Steam banned the “games’’ after Australian-based Collective Shout accused the payment platforms Visa, PayPal and MasterCard of profiting from violent pornography.

The Australian revealed on Tuesday that children could easily access nearly 500 animated “games’’ depicting rape, incest and the sexual abuse of children through Steam.

Steam has since kicked most of the games off its platform, after updating its terms and conditions to prohibit the publication of “content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks, or internet network providers – in particular, certain kinds of adults only content.’’

Collective Shout only became aware of its victory when online trolls unleashed a torrent of abuse, including threats to kill, rape and dox the Australian women campaigning against the “sexploitation’’ of women and children.

Its founder, Melinda Tankard Reist, said she had complained to Elon Musk’s social media platform X, which has removed some of the content, and was preparing complaints to the police and Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.

“We’re getting rape threats, death threats, slander and they posted the faces of our board members, along with rape threats against our board,’’ she said.

“They say we’re evil and want to take their freedoms away.

“The fact these porn-sick gamers defend their right to be aroused by the sexual torture of women and children tells us more about them than us.’’

Screenshot of abuse against Collective Shout founder Melanie Tankard Reist. Picture: X

Collective Shout had detected 232 titles on Steam, in a search for games using the term “rape’’ – including one in which men abduct women, hold them hostage and rape and sexually torture them.

It also revealed 149 online interactive games involving incest, including one in which the player adopts the role of a father abusing his twin daughters.

Most of the games had vanished on Friday, although 57 featuring rape and 26 with an incest theme remained on Steam.

Ms Tankard Reist said Steam had refused requests to remove the games, before Collective Shout alerted the credit card companies.

“This is a major victory,’’ she said. “We welcome the additional terms and conditions added to Steam, and the display of corporate social responsibility from the payment gateways.

“They have recognised their brands were being tarnished through Steam hosting games with the themes of rape, sexual torture, incest and child sexual abuse.

“We thank them for responding to widespread concern about the gamified violence of women and children.’’

But Ms Tankard Reist has received a barrage of online abuse, mostly on X, from angry gamers inciting violence against her.

“Use fear to make them suffer,’’ one X user tweeted. “If they want to censor or push corporate control make them regret it.’’

Screenshot showing threats including death threats against Collective Shout founder Melanie Tankard Reist. Picture: X

Another wrote: “I pray for your death, in a painful and humiliating way, in real life, not in a game, maybe then you’ll learn to differentiate fiction from reality.’’

An angry X user posted: “You have put a target on your back for this bitch.’’

“You deserve a meeting with your imported machete gangs,’’ wrote another.

Screenshot of a message sent to Collective Shout founder Melanie Tankard Reist. Picture: X

One X user wrote that “you make me ashamed to be Australian, I hope you suffer nothing but ectopic pregnancies should you ever try to conceive’’.

The Australian contacted the X global media team for comment but did not receive a reply.