Valve bows to Kremlin: LGBTQ+ solitaire game [Flick Solitaire] pulled from russian Steam [cited a 2006 federal law prohibiting the "promotion of non-traditional sexualities"]

www.player.one Valve Bows to Kremlin: LGBTQ+ Solitaire Game Pulled from Russian Steam

Valve sparks outrage by removing the LGBTQ+ inclusive game Flick Solitaire from Steam in Russia, bowing to Kremlin censorship demands while Apple and Google refuse.

134 comments

Why the fuck is Steam still in Russia?
- Gabe needs НКВД money.
- CSGO trolls from Russia probably make up like 20% of their total revenue.
- 💲💲💲
- For the rubles, of course.
- Why are they still in America?

'This isn't "wokeness", it's basic human rights and equality and nothing more,' he added. 'If Steam can't support free speech of LGBTQ+ people, then at the very least they should be transparent about this.'
What a bizarre response. Neither Roskomnadzor nor Valve claimed this had anything to do with "'wokeness,'" and Steam was in fact transparent about this.
I don't really get what anyone expects Valve to do here other than comply with the law. Still, I'm surprised they're even able to operate in Russia given all the sanctions.
- Pulling out of Russia entirely is an option. It's not like they're relying on them to stay in business.
  
  Well, given the sanctions, this ought to be a given. I don't understand how valve can operate in Russia at all tbh.
  
  It is, but the alternative is that everything would get pirated instead. And like Trump, Russia is fishing for a "woke" escape goat to continue to come up with excuses to shut down exposure outside of the state controlled media, which Steam provides.
  If Steam goes out of Russia, there will be a state sanctioned pirate streaming service for games, and it will include spyware. Steam isn't just one entity, it is an entity for every country it decides to operate in.
  Still, I'm not going to complete defend Valve on this, but at least they aren't pulling a "many gamers complained about this and we listened" card. They also didn't remove the game from the store in its entirely just because Russia was complaining, but limited access to it locally.
  Maybe Valve should get out of Russia, but I don't see this negatively affecting Russians as much as it will make the bubble they live in even more closed off. VPNs would be an alternative if Russia wasn't criminalizing them.
  
  Imagine all the "Valve could pull out of {country} next!" headlines that would never end
- They could just not comply? What's Russia gonna do, nuke Gaben's yacht?
- They ignored (legitimate) youth protection laws long enough, they could ignore this one, too.
  
  ? Curious, any good places to look into this?
- I don’t really get what anyone expects Valve to do here other than comply with the law.
  Lol.
- There's a thin red line that tie both Putin's oligarchs and Trump's oligarchs: "wokeness" is a concept fabricated by the latter but is completely compliant with Russian's 2006 federal law. They can't formalized that freedom of people doesn't matter, they need to make-up a blurry concept of "tradition" and a vague concept of something that may corrupt the aforementioned joke ("traditional values": the one between the traditional human ape rape cave and matrimonial rites after human ape pack raided another pack and took their females)
  
  I mean on the literal level, "'wokeness'" was used quotatively by Masters, as though somebody else had actually said that exact word. This is what strikes me as bizarre.
  But also, the 'woke' thing is a new layer to the culture war that emerged in the late '10s. It was precipitated by similar disagreements over issues of social justice and affirmative action, of course, but not to the same extent or precision. However, Russia is acting consistently with how they acted a decade ago. So this is my weak argument that 'wokeness' is indeed not relevant here even in concept.
- comply with the law
  Because Google & Apple don't comply w/homophobic imperial out-border “laws.”
  
  Are you sure about that? Apple.
  Google, fair enough, but I don't know to what extent they actually do business in Russia. Can you buy a pixel in Russia?
- Pull out. And the same every country, including the one we both live in if need be

“Non-traditional”? Homosexuality has been around and recorded since the Romans and even prior. 2000+ years isn’t traditional? That’s just as long as Christianity.
- It's a dictatorship. It's not logic. Fuck the Kremlin.
- It was illegal in the UK till the mid 60s, Russia is still holding out
  
  Nah, they actively got worse as authoritarian governments are wont to do.
- Non-traditional as to the religion. Orthodox catholic church is fucked up in head, and lately been standing on a wrong side of many things. Even going so far to in-fight with each other for their statements. They are like The Mouth of Sauron - they preach on behalf of government and lately it feels that they spit to vile shit out of their mouth just to please their government.
- Inb4 the ackshually, homosexuality is a modern concept that's been around for less than 100 years ☝🤓

Your choice as Valve here is to either delist or not be in Russia. It is easy for me, as someone not in Russia, to cheer Valve to fight the good fight. But, it would suck if I were in Russia and suddenly lost access to my games.
- This is the most sane take I've seen. It's honestly weird how ignorant this thread is, regional censorship is not new. Australia has a habit of banning violent games. The Middle East and China have a habit of censoring all sorts of things. Many countries have their own laws of what is and isn't okay and they fluctuate all the time. My friend in Germany couldn't play Wolfenstein because any games with Nazi imagery were illegal until relatively recently.
  Literally every company that operates in those countries also censor their stuff. The only reason this article exists is because [thing but Russia] gets more clicks and outrage compared to [thing in fifty other countries]. You're free to hate Steam for it but this isn't weird or exclusive behavior. They're running a business.
  
  It's almost always wrong, and businesses should pull out of those places. I hope they pull out of my country if they pull similar shit. If you support bad values, you should be punished. And if losing their games makes people finally overthrow the magats, then that must be done
- Yeah, I don't know why it's news at all. It happens in every other country with any amount of censorship, US included.
  
  If America does this shit, they should pull out of here too
- But, it would suck if I were in Russia and suddenly lost access to my games.
  Another reason not to rely on steam as a central point of failure.
  
  Not a defense, but aren't a lot of the steam games at least runnable without the front end?
  Not as much as GOG obviously, but some ?
- I play online games since counterstrike 1.4 came out. If russians lose access to online games, it would make every online game in europe better. It sucks for them, but maybe they need their own servers so they can be toxic to themselves.
  
  People downvoting here probably don't realize how toxic Russian youth can be. They're a product of their environment and oh boy the environment is shit.

When "the right thing to do" enters in conflict with "what maximises profits", businesses almost always pick the later.
What makes this decision particularly stark is the response from other tech giants. The same censorship notice was sent to Apple and Google, as the game has been available on their Russian mobile stores since 2020. Both companies reportedly ignored the request, leaving Flick Solitaire available for download.
It's a matter of relative power.

This sucks.
However, I think it is important for Steam to continue operating in Russia: by seeing the living standards of other people across the world, younger Russians will develop those same expectations. Everyday things like furnishings, food, how people treat each other, and so forth. When the Russia we know dies, it will be important for the Russians of the future to have ideas and desires to drive them forward. Also, Russian authorities won't be able to fully inspect ALL media for LGBTQ+, which means that people will see something that they "shouldn't".
In the long run, the media that people consume will determine how they feel their nation should become. It is my hope that Putin's Russia will die in the coming years, and a better nation born from the ashes.
- This is a very naive and ignorant take. In the major cities, quality of life is on part with EU for many.
  Furthermore, even with demographic splits (e.g. russians aged 18-24, urban russians), all major demographic groups show at least strong majority support for chauvinism, authoritarianism and genocidal imperialism.
  There are some variations of course. But it's more along the lines of overwhelming/near absolute majority support (e.g 50+) or strong majority support (18-34). You also find interesting variantions where "middle age" segments tend to be less supportive (on a relative basis, the segment as whole still shows strong majority support) of genocidal imperialism than young adults/early middle age (18-34); likely because they have more to lose.
  Russians have the capability to build a better future for themselves (without invasions), they just don't want to because they haven't gotten a taste of their own medicine (where they are treated like they treat others).
  EU is massive in enabling this attitude. Consider the fact that Merkel, even from retirement, is promoting russian genocidal imperialism by claiming that Poland and the Baltic nation are responsible for the full scale invasion:
  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/06/angela-merkel-poland-baltics-blame-ukraine-war/
  When it's the russians and putin (a symptom, with the cause being russians) who are to blame for their own invasion.
- What Steam should do, and what every other country and business should do is leave russia (and israel etc etc etc). They should completely stop importing or exporting until that country starts to play nice with others.
  The. Fucking. End.
  If they are invading/causing genocide/generally be cunts then 100% ignore and sanction that country. Nothing in, nothing out. Physically or digitally. Nothing. Fuck 'em until they stop being scummy pieces of shit.
  It won't happen, obviously, because nearly every politician and upper corporate ghouls are corrupt. But that's what should happen.
  
  I think that is the wrong approach. North Korea is the result of what you advocate for, a people who do not know the possibility of other lifestyles. The complete isolation of a country is similar to locking up a child in a basement: It corrodes the mind and prevents escape for something better.
  This isn't to say that Russia, Israel, nor North Korea shouldn't be impacted by their harmful characters. Instead, they should be treated like post-WW2 Japan, where outsiders force reforms. In Japan's case, that was the dismantling of mega-corporation zaibatsu, ensuring democratic voting, removing previous leadership, reconstruction programs, and so forth.
  It isn't much different from tending a garden, where you both help and harm to ensure that the best plants get ahead of weeds.
- Everyday things like furnishings, food, how people treat each other, and so forth.
  Russia is not a post-apocalyptic hellscape (yet). They have pretty much the same food and furnishing as anyone else in the west. And learning about how people across the world treat each other from video games sounds like a horrible idea.
  Russians have been consuming US culture slop for a long while. Turns out, it doesn't help.
  
  there's also a troubling trend in the gaming industry for the very most right wing propaganda to be promoted and pushed alongside gaming content. steam is not the true exposure to liberating ideology that will wake the chauvinists up. far more likely to make them go, "see, this is how the world works."
  
  A: Videogames are not just made by the US. As it turns out, Europe, Asia, Africa, and many other places create stuff. It is a way for people to explore other cultures, without needing a plane ticket nor permission from governments.
  B: Russia isn't known for its general prosperity for the ordinary person. Also, it is in a state of war, which means less of everything that people like. Constant reminders of what isn't there, may speed an end to Russia's aggression. Hopefully, things will go Nepalese.
  C: Be it books, games, or movies, the fundamental crux in many of them revolves around the interactions of people. A major element of videogames is helping out people and being helped in turn, trading things, meeting folks with different ideas and appearances, ect. These are good things for people to learn.

What's the alternative? They have to obey the law, right? What should they have done? How is this "bowing to Kremlin" as if they're kneeling, waiting to suck their dick or something.
Genuinely curious about these questions.
- Because MS, Epic and Sony are scared shitless that valve will dominate gaming market after major hardware announcement and had begun digging dirt on them.
  Only in last 2 weeks there been like 3 "major" anti Valve news. I find them to be astroturfing. All these news are nothingburgers.
  My tinfoil shines on top of my head
  
  You know what, I believe that. 👌 Wouldn't at all be surprised.
- The alternative is to stop doing business with Russia.
  They can be part of the problem, or part of the solution.
  They chose the problem.
  
  The alternative is to stop doing business in places where laws are being used to restrict the games available.
  Don't get me wrong, fuck the russian government and the horse they rode in on, but unless you have a defend-able reason that russia should be singled out in this context your argument is emotional rhetoric and little else.
  You could perhaps narrow that down to a subset of applicable laws, but i'd lay good money that any group/type of laws you pick are not go only contain russia and still be able to be considered a reasonable argument.
  
  How is valve doing business with Russia? Are they selling games to the government? Games are for the public, right? The public isn't at war, Putin is.
  Let me know if this is a bad take, what am I missing.
  
  I don't see how it advances any objective like Ukraine or identity politics issue by Valve not being in Russia. On the contrary, the more people buy from valve puts currency strain on Russia and exports western culture to them.
- Pull out.
  Yes, I'd still say this if it was America
  
  What would that accomplish though?

I wonder if the same people who say Steam should pull out of Russia would agree that Steam should also pull out from the US. I mean, that's what should happen given the basis of the arguments being used, right?
- If the US opposes values Valve has then they should.
  I’m not going to pretend Valve cares about these causes though.
- Yes. Maybe then people will blame the ones actually responsible. If it makes overthrowing a magat government more likely, it's good on principle
  
  Yes. Once the bread and circuses are gone, people will have lots of hunger and free time to ruminate on how hungry they are.
- Which steam games have been removed by the US government?
  
  There was the whole thing about payment processors raising a stink because of Steam, which is comparable and I have no evidence Dementia Don simps were not somehow involved, since this was started via some republican christofascist Karen association. But even if that does not suffice it for you, I'm not wondering about to the present situation, I'm wondering about the situation of when (not if) it happens in the future.
- Wat?
  
  Well the US is kinda preparing for war with a foreign nation under false pretenses rn. Venezuela specifically.
  
  Just inspecting the double standard often seen in issues like these. Russia bad Amerikkka good etc.

It's called "complying with the law".
- Strange then that Google and Apple didn't take it down. Valve made a choice and not a good one.
- Russia issued a lot of legal requirements that don't make sense. For example they at some point asked more money than we have on the planet, from Google.
  Complying with the law on a territory not controlled by sensible human beings should be considered questionable at the very least.

I mean, if you want to operate in a country, you follow their laws when in the country?
- How about having some fucking backbone?
  
  That's how to cease operating in a country.
  
  If they don't like it, they can leave Russia.
- Generally yes, but legality is not ethics.
  
  Where do you draw that line?
- I agree with folks that they should just pull out of the country and tell customers its because of their countries laws preventing them from doing business there.

So, human rights stuff aside, how/why the fuck do we need a genderised solitaire?
- Because the dev wanted to make it and other people wanted to play it.
- Its a free card game with paid or grind to get skins. One of those skins is a rainbow camelion.
- it's art. the question should be "why not" and the answer is "no reason".
- It seems to be one set of cards, as a part or a deck. Its pretty much a nothing burger.
  
  And besides that, who the fuck cares other than rabid homophobic assholes?
- Someone wanted to play a game like it, and someone else coded it and decided to sell it. Capitalism. You may as well ask the question, "Why does porn exist." People can't have sex whenever they want, with whoever they want, so a wank with some NSFW material solves the problem. A demand results in someone realizing they can make money meeting the demand.

These comments are shit. Who said that you should comply with Russia's laws???
- People who love valve more than human rights
- Money, I guess. GabeN needed a new yatch

Surprised to not see it linked. Warning: despite being free, recent reviews point out how they’re pushing a monthly subscription to get all the cosmetics.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3690460/FLICK_SOLITAIRE/
- no good sides huh

It's just sad.

Takes games put in cart for black Friday sale out of cart. Goes outside instead.

I fed up to see the discourse about steam being the best thing since sliced bread. Its a shitty company, pro censure, anti lgbt, anti owning game, with another oligarch ceo . I exclusively use GoG now
- If I'm looking to buy a game online, the prices are comprable and one is DRM-free on GoG, I go with GoG everytime.

134 comments