Op-ed: Valve takes a side by not “taking sides” in curation controversy

Enlarge / The cracks are beginning to show in Valve's almost-no-curation policy. (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty)

Steam's new laissez-faire content guidelines-which officially allow anything short of illegal activity and "obvious trolling" in games on its store-are an untenable attempt to have it both ways. On the one hand, Valve obviously no longer wants the responsibility of playing arbiter to what kind of content should and should not be considered "acceptable" for a Steam game. On the other hand, Valve also doesn't want the games on the Steam Store to be considered "a reflection of Valve's values."

This attempt to thread an admittedly difficult needle doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. Allowing almost anything on the world's most popular PC gaming storefront is, in itself, "a reflection of Valve's values," and the company can't absolve itself of the responsibility and implicit endorsement of hateful content that will come with that allowance.

...But I defend your right to say it

It's not hard to see why giving up on content moderation wholesale might seem appealing to a company like Valve (even beyond explanations that focus on laziness or cheapness). Just in the last month, Valve has faced highly publicized controversies over delisting "erotic" visual novel games while allowing titles like the utterly debauched Agony and school shooting game Active Shooter (which was recently reinstated on the service).

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