Hopefully the current messy situation with payment processors, or their affiliates or intermediaries, or whoever is causing the current ruckus in Steam and itch.io, will be solved soon and we will be able to go back to normalcy.
However, in case that somehow doesn't happen, and somehow payment processors are able to keep this draconian totalitarian control over all commerce and restrict it as they see fit, and lawmakers are either exceedingly slow to respond, or completely unwilling, here's an idea that came to my mind that would solve the problem:
Split the digital storefront, such as Steam, into two completely separate independent entities, each with their own separate names, separate websites, and perhaps even separate desktop applications.
The primary storefront would be the "payment processor friendly" storefront, which contains no games that the payment processors don't like. The secondary storefront would contain everything, ie. it will be completely uncensored.
The difference would be that you can only make payments using VISA, Mastercard or whatever card of those payment processors in that primary platform. The secondary uncensored platform has no such option.
So how would this help?
All these digital distribution platforms allow purchasing in-shop credits (this is very common in Steam, the Nintendo Online Shop, and most other online digital distribution shops.)
Well, the solution is simple: Allow transferring your in-store credits from one platform to the other. That's it. It's as simple as that.
So you purchase credits in the primary censored platform using your credit card. Payment processors shouldn't have anything to say to this.
Then you transfer your credits to your other account in the uncensored platform. The payment processors don't even need to know about this. It's a private transaction between you and the store (eg. Valve). Nobody else needs to know about it.
Then you can purchase whatever you want in the uncensored platform using those credits. Payment processors will not be involved in that purchase in any way, and will be none the wiser.
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