Controversy erupted on March 22 when Steam, the world’s largest video game platform known for titles such as EAFC, The Last of Us, Football Manager, and Sims, made available ‘No Mercy,’ a game that encourages the violation of women. The game’s slogan is “become women’s worst nightmare.”
In the United States, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) vehemently condemned the video game and urged Steam to remove it from the platform, arguing that it “promotes graphic sexual violence, incest, blackmail, and male domination, explicitly encouraging players to engage in non-consensual acts and misogynistic behavior.”
This view is shared by the non-profit organization ‘Women in Games,’ which condemned the existence of ‘No Mercy’ and deemed its presence on Steam as “utterly unacceptable.”
In Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the game.
In Portugal, it was available for nearly a month on the platform, restricted to those over 18 years old and priced at 11.79 euros. It was eventually banned this week.
Despite this, the responsible producers issued a statement defending the game.
Miguel Patinha Dias | 08:36 – 11/04/2025
However, even though the game has been removed from Steam, those who purchased ‘No Mercy’ will still have access to the game and will be able to download and install it on their computers, and Zerat Games continues to sell the title on other platforms.
“We would like you to be a little more open to fetishes”
Despite the controversy, the producers of Zerat Games publicly defended the game, arguing that male domination and rape continue to be “fetishes” for many.
“We completely understand that for many people these things may be disgusting, but during sex, people should really do what they want as long as no one is harmed,” the statement reads. “If, after reading our statement, you still believe that a game like this shouldn’t have been created, then we apologize. At the same time, we would like you to be a little more open to human fetishes that do not harm anyone, even if they may disgust you. This is just a game, and despite many people wanting to make it something more, it remains and will remain a game.”
Complaints and reports in Portugal
with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the Steam platform for marketing the ‘No Mercy’ video game, due to a potential case of propagating hate speech against women.
In a note published on the Instagram page of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG), the organization stated that it contacted the platform to have the game removed and “lodged a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office for marketing content potentially framing the propagation of hate speech against women, promotion of sexual violence, and incitement to commit sexual crimes.”
Meanwhile, the Women’s Democratic Movement lodged a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Commission for Gender Equality against the game’s creators. In a statement, the movement argued that the video game “promotes sexual violence and misogyny” and demands that technological platforms be held accountable.
The Women’s Democratic Movement is filing a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Commission for Gender Equality against the creators of the game ‘No Mercy,’ which challenges users to become the “worst nightmare of women.”
Lusa | 15:09 – 11/04/2025
The complaints and reports prompted the related to the video game at the Lisbon Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP). Without providing further details, a source from the Attorney General’s Office indicated that the inquiry is ongoing.
It should be noted that this is not the first time Steam has been involved in controversy. In 2019, the platform was forced to remove the game ‘Rape Day’—where players could also harass, rape, and kill women.
