The game, No Mercy, has since been pulled from Valve Corporation’s digital storefront Steam.
SEATTLE — A Bellevue tech company has been thrust into a global controversy over the availability of a sexually-based video game on its digital platform.
The game No Mercy was previously available on Steam, which is owned by Valve Corporation.
While the game is no longer available for purchase, it is still listed on the website. According to a description on Steam, No Mercy “graphically contains sex and violence [including] incest, blackmail [and] unavoidable non-consensual sex.”
On April 9, a Change.org petition was created in protest of the game’s available on Steam.
The following day, the game’s creator announced on Steam that No Mercy was pulled from the platform.
“At this point, the game has been blocked in 3 countries—Australia, Canada, and the UK. We don’t intend to fight the whole world, and specifically, we don’t want to cause any problems for Steam and Valve. They do a great job and are incredibly helpful,” the statement said.
After learning about No Mercy on TikTok, a Kenmore mother reached out to KING 5 to express concern over the game and its connection to the Bellevue company.
“It was shock and then kind of disgust if I’m being quite honest. I’m raising teenagers and it’s like you’re always trying to protect them from stuff,” said Arielle Budinich. “Do these companies hold themselves to any moral or ethical standards for what they’re putting into society or is it just about money in their pocket books, clicks and streams?”
A spokesperson for Valve Corporation did not respond to KING 5’s request for comment and clarification on how games are placed on Steam.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation released a statement, celebrating the game being pulled while condemning its existence.
“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. 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,” said Haley McNamara, senior vice president of strategic initiatives and programs, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
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