US EditionOnce a Relative Haven for Adult Games, itch.io Begins Removing Explicit Titles
ONLINE PLATFORM ITCH.IO, JUL 24 – Itch.io removed over 20,000 adult games from search results due to payment processor demands amid pressure from anti-pornography campaigns targeting explicit game content.
- On July 23, 2025, itch.io removed tens of thousands of NSFW games from its storefront's main pages and search results following urgent pressure from payment processors.
- This action followed Valve's July 15 removal of over 400 porn-themed games from Steam, driven by similar payment processor demands responding to pressure from Collective Shout.
- Itch.io stated it conducted a comprehensive content audit to ensure compliance with payment processor policies and announced new rules requiring creators to confirm that their game content is allowable.
- The platform apologized for the sudden nature of its actions, stating that it needed to respond quickly to safeguard its essential payment systems in order to keep operating and supporting all developers.
- These removals sparked concerns over increasing censorship, eroded platform goodwill, and prompted calls for legislation limiting payment processors' influence on content decisions.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Censoring video games with sexual content suppresses the diversity of human desire
The battle over adult content is provoking concern about censorship and threatening game makers’ livelihoods. (Pexels/John Petalcurin)Following a campaign by Australian anti-porn organization Collective Shout, the video game distribution platforms Steam and itch.io recently made changes to their policies about hosting games with adult themes. While Steam removed many games, the campaign has had a particularly strong effect on itch.io because it …
Credit Card Companies Fielding A Ton Of Complaints Over NSFW Games Disappearing On Platforms
A week or so ago, Karl Bode wrote about Vice Media’s idiotic decision to disappear several articles that had been written by its Waypoint property concerning Collective Shout. Collective Shout is an Australian group that pretends to be a feminist organization, when, in reality, it operates much more like any number of largely evangelical groups bent on censoring any content that doesn’t align with their own viewpoints (which they insist become y…
Here’s Why Steam Is Banning Adult Games
Game distribution platforms Steam and itch.io have recently removed a ton of adult games, a sign of a widespread shift in how games are distributed online and how game distributors handle explicit content. Here's what's happening, why it’s happening now, and what it means for the future of gaming and free speech.
How an anti-porn lobby on payment processors censored thousands of video games
Video game developers are speaking out after thousands of games and other digital artworks were hidden or removed entirely from two popular PC games stores. They say many of the vanished titles were unnecessarily censored.
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