Japanese Developer Denied Bank Transfer Over Game Content
The refusal shows how domestic banks with ties to Western payment processors can enforce content standards even on all-ages versions of games, bypassing platform-level content policies.
Reporting from 1 sources: Niche Gamer (Anime).
Mousou no Mayu, developer of Hustle Battle: Card Gamers, was told by Daishi Hokuetsu Bank that it would not process a payout from English publisher Kagura Games, citing the game's content. The Steam version is all-ages. The developer has since moved to a netbank that respects their work.
Daishi Hokuetsu Bank, one of whose largest foreign investors is Blackrock, refused to process an international transfer from Kagura Games to developer Mousou no Mayu for the Steam version of Hustle Battle: Card Gamers. The developer confirmed the Steam release contains no ecchi content. Blackrock is also a major shareholder in Visa and Mastercard, payment processors that have pressured platforms like Patreon, Pixiv, and Steam to tighten adult content policies in recent years. The developer said the bank also warned it may refuse domestic payments from DLsite and FANZA in the future. Mousou no Mayu has opened an account with SBI Net Bank, which has not objected to the transfers.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Niche Gamer (Anime) Japanese game dev denied by bank with ties to western payment processors