A August 2025 paper from the Frontier of Psychology claims that right-wing extremism is on the rise steam. The study, conducted by Colorado Boulder and Alex Bradleenhouse and Rachel Cowart of Cambridge University, respectively, shows that neofascist groups are using valve platforms to launch “wars” and focus on organizing new members recruiting and harassment against various conflicting groups. These targets include everything from other steam groups to NGOs like the Antiformation League (ADL), and other related groups are considered “allies.” Bradley-Newhouse and Kowert conclude that Neo-Fascism is on the rise on Valve’s platform and that the current moderation system is not doing much to stop it.
The study argues that Steam’s moderation system is struggling to contain poor actors. Bad actors consistently create new accounts and use their own unique language to obscure fascist-related symbolism. Focusing on some right-wing groups, they argue that members usually have several common groups and consistently use rewards to attract other players to their community.
Looking at the members’ most played games, the library had some of Steam’s biggest titles, including Counter Strike 2, Sword 2, and Wallpaper Engine. The second Hearts of Iron 4 deviates slightly from the rest of the list, drawing in over 60k players per day compared to CS2’s 1.4 million or Dota 2’s 800k.
The pair stipulates that this is the result of the game’s WW2 settings. This allows you to play as the Nazis themselves and other fascist groups. It also argues that the ability to use mods to generate their own homogenous fiction could play a role, allowing bad actors to create their own versions of conflict.
PCGamesn will contact Paradox Interactive regarding these claims and will update this article if there is a reply.
The study argues Valve’s “content moderation appears to be inconsistent and incomprehensible.” Avoiding the band is added to the “war won” tally in the group description, in one instance, and another community was removed eight times, but consistently revived using slightly different languages.
A 2024 report from the Prevention Prevention League led to a surge in bans claimed by the platform, Bradley Newhouse and Cowart, but states that “extremist creeks and groups are still easily spotted across Steam’s social features.”
PCGamesn reached out to Valve for comments, but the 2018 Steam Post quoted in the investigation stated, “It has decided to allow everything to the Steam store except for what it deems illegal or straight trolling.” However, this is a statement from seven years ago and it is possible that the moderation policy has changed since.
