There’s been a major shake-up at Waypoint, the video game vertical of Vice, as multiple writers have resigned following the removal of articles connecting a new Steam policy to an anti-pornography group called Collective Shout. This all went down after Steam quietly announced a new rule banning “certain kinds of adult-only content” that “may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks.”
The controversy centers on two articles written by reporter Ana Valens, published on July 18 and July 19, which explored Collective Shout’s claims of responsibility for the changes on Steam. Collective Shout, an Australian anti-pornography group, openly stated that they incited this pressure through a campaign targeting payment processors like credit card companies and PayPal. Valens’ articles detailed Collective Shout’s campaign, including their efforts to get payment processors to “cut ties with Steam and itch.io” over games they deemed objectionable.
Vice’s owner, Savage Ventures, allegedly demanded the removal of these articles, leading to Valens’ immediate resignation. Following her departure, Waypoint writers Shaun Cichacki and Matt Vatankhah also announced they were quitting, with Vatankhah stating, “I can’t sit back and watch Savage Ventures silence Ana and stifle actual journalism out of fear of being ‘too controversial.'” Even Waypoint managing editor Dwayne Jenkins, who Valens said was a “great boss,” resigned, leaving only two writers remaining at the site.
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Valens claims that both articles had been edited and approved by Jenkins, though they didn’t go through a pre-publication legal review. She also mentioned that as far as she knows, there wasn’t any legal threat from Collective Shout. However, she speculates that Savage Ventures “simply were afraid of one coming eventually.” It’s worth noting that the connection between Collective Shout and Steam’s policy changes was public knowledge, based on Collective Shout’s own statements, and not an allegation made by Waypoint.
This isn’t the first time Valens has faced issues with content at Waypoint under Savage Ventures’ ownership. She previously had articles about VTuber Kirsche Verstahl removed and a planned column about adult games canceled. Valens also stated that Savage Ventures “wanted to pull an article I did on right-wing extremism in VTubing due to its political content” and concerns about how it might affect their standing with Google Discover. Ironically, Valens pointed out that Vice itself features articles on topics like zoophilia and “gooning”.
The situation highlights a worrying trend in games journalism: underpaid writers, understaffed sites, and ownership that seems to prioritize revenue over journalistic integrity. Waypoint, which Savage Ventures relaunched in May 2024 after Vice’s bankruptcy, was reportedly paying contributors as little as $30 per article, a stark contrast to the $300+ rates from the previous iteration of Waypoint.
Taking down articles is a major no-no in journalism, especially when the content is believed to be factual and meets editorial standards. Most outlets would typically update, edit, or add editor’s notes rather than completely remove an article. The lack of proper editorial and legal support at Waypoint, as described by Valens, also seems to be a significant factor in this debacle.
