The International Game Developers Association has released a statement regardingSteamand Itch.io removing/hiding NSFW content due to pressure from payment processors.
On July 16, multiple games with NSFW themes and visualswere removed from Steam. This was swiftly followed by Itch.io indexing most of its adult games and making them a lot more difficult to find. It was discovered that this was the result of a group called Collective Shout, which had released an open letter to payment processing companies, pressuring them not to support storefronts that sell certain kinds of games.
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In response to this hurried removal of games, theIGDAhas issued a public statement condemning the move, advocating for reform and platform accountability rather than outright censorship of adult material.
The IGDA Wants Better Rules: Not Outright Removal Due To Peer Pressure
The IGDA opposes the idea that financial institutions aredeciding what is sold, rather than individual digital storefronts. This has harmed numerous game developers, who had income sources stripped from them without warning, with no recourse or complaint procedure.
It’s the IGDA’s position that storefronts need full transparency and rules about content that’s allowed, and enforcing them. This is especially true for adult content, particularly those dealing with sensitive topics.
There’s no denying thatSteam badly needs cleaning up, considering the absolutely reprehensible content that’s allowed there. It’s hard to defend some of the games that have been purged from the store, but it’s a slippery slope, and its censorship that could easily be weaponized and used against certain communities.
Steam and Itch.io have yet to enforce any new policies that canbring the delisted NSFW gamesback onto their stores, and it’s entirely possible that they’ll just cave to the whims of payment processors. The fight isn’t over yet, as organizations like the IGDA want to see improvements, not kowtowing to political pressure.
