Update: 1/19/2024
Despite my not having purchased a game from Steam since 2022, not once have I actually called for a boycott. That changes as of now, thanks to this:
https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-profiting-his-new-game-steam-while-refusing-pay-sandy-hook-families-he

Still making purchases from Steam? Yeah, I'm going to judge you for it now. For whatever that's worth, I guess.

___________

As of May 15, 2022, I've come to a personal decision.

Due to the tragedy that took place in Buffalo here in the U.S. just this past weekend at the time of writing, I've decided I can no longer justify making purchases through Steam - not while products like this one (and other extreme-right "troll games") are offered on their storefront, and not while extremist hate groups are still allowed a voice on here.

I'll still be moderating the communities like I have done for years, and I'm certainly not going to let my decade-old library of nearly 1,000 games or my Valve Index and Steam controller go to waste. I've loved Valve, Steam, and all they've had to offer. For over 10 years, I've been a very loyal, highly satisfied customer.

But from this point on, unless serious action is taken against products that are made by and marketed exclusively to hate groups (which Valve receives 30% of each sale from), I'm taking my business elsewhere. I'm done. No more purchases from me, and no more free marketing via screen shots, reviews, guides, curation, etc. Steam will no longer be receiving their 30% cut from me, and I will no longer contribute to their free press formula.

To be clear: I'm not "pro censorship." I don't care about GTA and the like. But if a game is obvious propaganda with the intention to incite violence towards marginalized groups, Steam should not be profiting from it. Period. (In the case of the one example tagged above, an actual politician is the developer - so named "Nordic Empire." Does it really get any more obvious than that?)

I don't expect everyone to agree or to understand. Hell, I don't expect many people to even see or read this. But I felt like I just had to say something - somewhere. It's an ongoing issue that's been eating away at me for a long time now - between seeing thousands of products like these, and seeing the countless literal hate groups that patrol the Steam community without any real, effective change happening. But the events of this weekend finally pushed me to take what very little action I can.

For those who are unaware of what occurred on my side of the pond, here's a news link. You can find the story on pretty much any news site of your choosing. Just be aware however that the details may - and should - be rather triggering.

https://apnews.com/article/buffalo-shooting-0475a5bd971d23a4e0a13ef840650bb1

In any event, that's enough grandstanding from me. Those who know me know that I've never been one for drama, theatrics, or "look it me! Look at my virtue signaling!" I hate that. This isn't that. This is me just needing to do and say "something," because there's not a damn thing else I can do. At a bare minimum, I can "vote with my wallet" and share my reasoning.

And again, I'm not asking folks to "boycott" Steam or anything. No judgement here either way. But I needed to get this off my chest, and it needs to be out there. Maybe someone from Valve might see it. Highly doubtful, but who knows? It's their cloud I'm yelling at.