Valve is stuck in yet another content-related controversy regarding which games make it onto Steam and which ones get to stay there. This time, the controversy centers around a free solitaire game called Flick Solitaire, with Valve accused of removing the game from Steam in Russia over its LGBTQ+ themed card decks at the request of the Russian government, while other digital platforms ignored the government's request.
According to a report from Video Games Industry Memo, Flick Solitaire had been available in Russia on the iOS store and the Google Play Store since 2020. However, shortly after it was released on Steam in October 2025, Russia's censorship body, the Roskomnadzor, sent messages to Valve, Apple, and Google, all requesting that the game be removed from their platforms for "promoting non-traditional sexualities."
While Apple and Google both ignored the request, Valve succumbed to it, not only removing the game from Steam in Russia, but also pointing its finger at developer Flick Games for not following "applicable laws" in a country in which it was publishing its game. Flick Games points out that Russia is not the only country that has laws criminalizing LGBTQ+ people, in which Flick Solitaire is available, and in all of those scenarios, Flick Games has never dialled down or censored the LGBTQ+ content included in the game.
"Since launching Flick Solitaire, it has been available in 40+ countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people. Russia is only one of these," said Ian Masters, Flick Games founder. "As we started adding decks that celebrated Pride, or were created by out queer artists, we did not self-censor in any of these countries. It's incredibly important that LGBTQ+ people in these countries can see that other LGBTQ+ people exist, that it's 100% normal and should even be celebrated."
According to the report, Google didn't respond to Roskomnadzor's notice at all. Apple sent a note to Masters acknowledging that it had received the notice from the Roskomnadzor, but affirmed to Masters that the notice had not impacted the studio's standing with Apple and on the App Store. Flick Solitaire is still, at the time of this writing, available on both the Google Play Store and the App Store in Russia.
Valve is the only platform that buckled under the pressure applied by Roskomnadzor, which, as Video Games Industry Memo points out, isn't exactly a huge amount of pressure. That said, Flick Solitaire is allegedly not the first game Valve has removed at the request of the Russian government. A report from PC Gamer claims that Valve removed 260+ games from Steam at the request of the Roskomnadzor.
"This isn't 'wokeness', it's basic human rights and equality and nothing more," said Masters on the importance of protecting LGBTQ+ content on platforms like Valve. "If Steam can't support free speech of LGBTQ+ people, then at the very least they should be transparent about this."
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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