Steam removes game that urges players to sexually assault women

Anti-sexual exploitation advocates applauded Steam’s removal of a video game that sparked international outrage for allowing players to control a character who sexually assaults and tortures women.

A popular online video game platform, Steam recently removed the game “No Mercy,” which was designed by Zerat Games and known for its graphic depictions of violence and rape.

In a statement last Friday, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that Steam was right to remove “No Mercy” but called on the platform to ensure other games like it are not added to it in the future.  

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“We are glad that this ‘game’ designed to let users sexually assault female characters has been removed from Steam after incredible public pressure and an international campaign led by Collective Shout and joined by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and others,” Haley McNamara, the senior vice president of strategic initiatives and programs at NCOSE, told The Christian Post. 

The Australian feminist group Collective Shout released a petition after “No Mercy” appeared on Steam in early April. The petition called on Valve, the corporation that owns and operates Steam, to remove the game. 

As the feminist group noted, Steam is marketed as a platform for gamers ages 12 and up. 

The game described itself as “a 3D choice-driven adult Visual Novel with a huge focus on Incest and Male Domination.” Players assume the role of a man who sexually assaults his mother as punishment for her infidelity and urges players to “subdue” and “own” women.

“This game should have never been allowed to be on Steam in the first place — gamified rape should never be encouraged or thought of as no big deal,” McNamara told CP. 

The Valve Corporation did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment. 

Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia have banned “No Mercy,” prompting Zerat Games to remove it from Steam.

While the game is no longer available through Steam, it was not banned in the United States before its removal from the platform. 

McNamara states this is likely because the United States doesn’t have the same regulatory system over video games as some other countries. The lack of a regulatory body requiring companies to remove material like “No Mercy” from online platforms is why the advocate believes it’s essential for individuals to make their concerns known.

“You’re not only viewing a sexually violent scene, but you are the one engaging in it and initiating it,” McNamara said about the game’s potential impact on players. “The damage that does is significant, as it normalizes and encourages sexual violence.” 

McNamara contends it’s “socially irresponsible” to trivialize sexual violence by turning it into a game, arguing that this downplays the impact it has on victims, many of whom suffer from trauma related to the experience throughout their lives. 

“It’s very disturbing because this game is clearly stoking support for that kind of activity,” she stated. 

In response to criticism, Zerat conceded that incest in real life is “disgusting,” but they claimed that things like rape and male domination are “kinks” for many people. 

“I fully understand that for many people such things may be disgusting, but during sex, people should really do what they want, as long as they don’t harm anyone,” Zerat Games wrote in a statement shared by Kotaku on Thursday. 

“If after reading [our statement] you still believe that such a game should not have been created, then we sincerely apologize to you. At the same time, we would like you to be a bit more open to human fetishes that don’t harm anyone, even though they may seem disgusting to you.”

Zerat went on to state that “No Mercy” was “still just a game, and although many people are trying to make it into something more, it remains and will continue to be a game.”

McNamara disagreed, arguing that rape and sexual violence are not “human fetishes,” adding that sexual violence is not a game but a “grave reality that devastates lives.”

McNamara said NCOSE has received numerous messages through email and social media from defenders of “No Mercy” who claim that they have a “right” to play a rape simulation game. 

“This game has no place on a mainstream platform,” she argued. “Someone may have a right to create a game like this one, but that doesn’t mean they have the right to a platform to be promoted and sell it in mainstream places.”