Valve have blocked card game Flick Solitaire from the Russian version of Steam, after federal censorship body Roskomnadzor contacted the platform holder to order its removal for “promoting non-traditional sexualities”.
In a letter, Valve have also reproached developers Flick Games for failing “to do your due diligence regarding where your game is allowed to be distributed, and to inform us of any territory where it cannot be”. Flick Solitaire is still available in Russia via the iOS and Android storefronts, however, despite Roskomnadzor sending similar notes to Apple and Google. As of writing, Valve appear to be the only platform who have caved to Russian state requests to censor the game.
All that’s from the latest edition of Video Games Industry Memo, written by George E. Osborn. To start from the beginning, Flick Solitaire released on iOS and Android in June 2020. It’s a free-to-play collection of Solitaire variations distinguished by the titular flick controls and some lavish decks from independent artists, which include cards with queer themes such as Amee Wilsons’ Queer Chameleon Deck (pictured above) and Ollie T’s Drag Deck. I can’t say I’m compelled by the familiar option to grind for unlockable decks, or spend real money on in-game coins or a subscription pass, but I do think some of the designs are beautiful.
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The game has been available in Russia since its mobile launch – it’s the game’s second largest market, in fact – though Flick Games demonetised it for Russian players following the Vladimir Putin government’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, to avoid generating any revenue for the aggressor.
Then, on 1st October 2025, Flick Solitaire launched in Steam early access. The developers say they had also demonetised the Steam version for Russian players, while noting that they can’t do anything about platform features like store credit that might allow people to get around the block. For context, Steam currently doesn’t allow direct purchases by Russian players, in accordance with western sanctions, so Russian buyers have to make use of workarounds such as third-party key resellers.
On 28th October, Flick Games say they received official notices from Roskomnadzor, advising them that they had broken a 2006 law against the promotion of “non-traditional sexualities” – the VGIM article doesn’t specify, but I imagine it’s referring to this infamous amendment prohibiting the distribution of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” to minors. The censor also cc’d Flick Games on emails to Apple, Google and the developers’ web host, ordering the removal of Flick Solitaire from their platforms.
According to VGIM’s report, Google didn’t respond to Roskomnadzor’s request. Apple acknowledged the censor’s letter but assured Flick Games that it “did not affect the studio’s standing with the platform”, as Osborn puts it. Valve, however, added a country restriction for Flick Solitaire, without giving Flick Games the opportunity to contest or appeal the decision. Here’s the text of their accompanying message to the developers, as passed on by VGIM.
Hello Partner,
Your game, FLICK SOLITAIRE (3690460), was determined by Roskomnadzor to be in violation of Russian requirements for distribution. We’ve added a country restriction to the game so that it no longer appears in Russia.
We also want to remind you that you promised Valve under the Steam Distribution Agreement that your game complies with all applicable laws. Therefore, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence regarding where your game is allowed to be distributed, and to inform us of any territory where it cannot be.
VGIM say they’ve contacted Valve for a comment on Flick Games’s account, but have yet to receive a response. I’ll follow up with a request from RPS.
Valve have a track record for restricting access to games on Steam to appease draconian governments. In China, the platform holder operate a separate version of Steam with games licensed by regulators, though a huge number of Chinese players use the international version of Steam to get hold of unapproved releases. Individual cases of Valve bending for Chinese censors include the removal of brilliant Taiwanese horror game Devotion from sale, after it was found to contain a derogatory reference to the country’s president Xi Jinping. As for Steam’s operations in Russia, Roskomnadzor boasted in October 2024 that they had pushed Valve to remove “over 260 materials containing illegal content”, without going into specifics.
Valve have also been in the headlines lately for delisting or removing a swathe of games with sexual themes at the behest of international payment processing networks. Here, as in the case of Flick Solitaire, the platform holder has generally avoided taking a stance on the games in question, preferring to frame it all in the technicalities of compliance with governments or financial institutions, while gesturing towards catch-all prohibitions on “content that is patently offensive or intended to shock or disgust viewers”. Valve are also currently at loggerheads with Italian developers Santa Ragione over their refusal to publish the horror game Horses, apparently in response to a scene of a young woman riding a naked slave, though this pre-dates the payment processor crackdown.
Queer people in Russia face enormous oppression. In December 2022, Putin effectively outlawed public expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by signing a bill against “LGBT propaganda”. In June 2023, Russia took steps toward reinstating the idea of homosexuality being a mental illness. It’s currently illegal in Russia for trans people to change their legal gender or receive gender-affirming care. Same-sex marriages or civil unions are also forbidden.
Valve have professed support for queer developers and players on Steam, adding a LGBTQ+ store tag in 2019 and hosting LGBTQ+ sales among other events, but these seem like trivial shows of positive optics next to the company’s on-going willingness to meet the demands of repressive regimes. I’ll update this piece if Valve respond.
