An August 2025 paper in Frontiers in Psychology claims that right-wing extremism is on the rise on Steam. Conducted by Alex Bradley-Newhouse and Rachel Kowert of the Universities of Colorado Boulder and Cambridge respectively, the study shows that neo-fascist groups are using Valve’s platform to start “wars,” with a focus on recruiting new members and organizing harassment against various opposing groups. These targets, which include everything from other Steam populations to NGOs like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), are branded as “enemies,” while other affiliated groups are considered “allies.” Bradley-Newhouse and Kowert conclude that neo-fascism is on the rise on Valve’s platform, and that current moderation systems aren’t doing much to stop it.
The study contends that Steam’s moderation systems struggle to contain bad actors, who consistently make new accounts and obscure fascist-associated symbolism using their own, unique languages. Focusing on several right-wing populations, they claim that members normally have several groups in common, and consistently use rewards to attract other players to their own communities.
When the pair looked at members’ most-played games, libraries were largely populated by some of Steam’s biggest titles, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Wallpaper Engine, the latter of which provides animated backgrounds for your desktop. Sitting at number two, Hearts of Iron 4 is a slight deviation from the rest of the list, pulling in just over 60k players per day by comparison to CS2’s 1.4 million or Dota 2’s 800k.
The pair stipulates that this is a result of the game’s WW2 setting, which allows you to play as the Nazis themselves, as well as other fascist groups. The ability to generate your own allohistorical fiction using mods may also play a role, they claim, allowing bad actors to create their own versions of the conflict.
PCGamesN has reached out to Paradox Interactive regarding these claims, and will update this article if we hear back.
The study also claims that Valve’s “content moderation appears to have been inconsistent and not comprehensive,” with myriad right-wing groups being hit with bans, but reappearing quickly afterwards. Evading a band is, in one instance, added to a tally of “wars won” in the group’s description, while another community has been removed eight times but consistently resurrects itself using slightly different language.
A 2024 report from the Anti-Defamation League did lead to a spike in bans across the platform, Bradley-Newhouse and Kowert claim, but they state that “extremist cliques and groups are still easily discoverable across Steam’s social features.”
PCGamesN has reached out to Valve for comment, but a 2018 Steam post from the company, cited in the study, states that “[it] decided that the right approach is to allow everything onto the Steam Store, except for things that we decide are illegal, or straight up trolling.” This is, however, a statement from seven years ago and moderation policies may have changed since then.
