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[graywolf323]

after Steam removed some adult games earlier this week, Itch has gone a step further and made it so you can't even find them while also removing certain games like Steam did

needless to say X is in an uproar over this



edit: a Reddit thread with game devs discussing it

edit: adding Itch's statement, the community note on X says they've also removed some games from the library of people that have bought them without providing a refund, I haven't seen this reported elsewhere so I'm not sure how legitimate that is but if so that's massive

Statement made by Itch.io:

Article:

We have "deindexed" all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages. We understand this action is sudden and disruptive, and we are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change.

Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io. Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organization Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms.

Our ability to process payments is critical for every creator on our platform. To ensure that we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritize our relationship with our payment partners and take immediate steps towards compliance.

This is a time critical moment for itch.io. The situation developed rapidly, and we had to act urgently to protect the platform's core payment infrastructure. Unfortunately, this meant it was not realistic to provide creators with advance notice before making this change. We know this is not ideal, and we apologize for the abruptness of this change.

We are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of content to ensure we can meet the requirements of our payment processors. Pages will remain deindexed as we complete our review. Once this review is complete, we will introduce new compliance measures. For NSFW pages, this will include a new step where creators must confirm that their content is allowable under the policies of the respective payment processors linked to their account.

Part of this review will see some pages being permanently removed from itch.io. Affected accounts will be notified via their account's email address from our support address. You can reply to that email if you have any follow up questions.

We ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging period. I'm sorry we can not share more at this time as we are still getting a full understanding of the situation ourselves. We will post a follow up on our blog if the situation changes.

Thank you.

Source: https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content

 

[Loomy]

And here I was thinking the degens would be fine with the Steam policy because they'd have other avenues.

This is why Valve should not have capitulated.

 

[lughnasadh123]

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

This is honestly kind of insane.

I don't want to hear any horseshit from people about how it's just a couple of stupid smut games. If you don't see where this leads, you're a fucking idiot.

 

[Dane]

The puritans who were whinning for years against sexualization in games and etc are now crying because the credit card companies went after them?

Regardless, i hope this shitshow is quickly resolved, any censors can fuck off.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

What is itch.io's explanation, threats from payment processors?

P2P transactions is the only way you'll get past this problem. Well, until the courts find that games of this ilk are obscenities and not protected speech, paving the way for government censorship.

 

[phant0m]

What is itch.io's explanation, threats from payment processors?

P2P transactions is the only way you'll get past this problem. Well, until the courts find that games of this ilk are obscenities and not protected speech, paving the way for government censorship.

thus, bitcoin

 

[Cert.in.Death]

thus, bitcoin

To the moon, my fellow apes

 

[Madonis]

And here I was thinking the degens would be fine with the Steam policy because they'd have other avenues.

This is why Valve should not have capitulated.

I think they got the same notification that Steam received. The difference is how long it took them to do something.

 

[darrylgorn]

Funny how we can advance so far and still be this fucking stupid.

 

[Kamina]

I don't think anyone cries about that infamous rape game getting removed from steam.
But the trend swapping over to harmless erotic games is concerning.

Really makes you think why this is only happening to games, not other media.
But i guess the hatred towards games is just much bigger for some people…

 

[adamsapple]

Saying it one more time for the back rows, card holders having this kind of content moderation powers is fucking absurd.

Let the platform (Steam, Itch etc) moderate their own content and remove what's necessary.

 

[justiceiro]

thus, bitcoin

Any digital store accepts that?because it seems that is the only place those creators can migrate to.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Ah, the ages long hypocrisy. It's alright to show absolutely insane levels of violence, psychological abuse and extreme political positions.

But god almighty forbids you, if you show a tiddie or a schlong… Because of course people are not mating in real life.

 

[Danteyke223]

American puritans once again ruining stuff for gamers since the 90s

 

[Peroroncino]

And the ball only started rolling

Ah, the ages long hypocrisy. It's alright to show absolutely insane levels of violence, psychological abuse and extreme political positions.

But god almighty forbids you, if you show a tiddie or a schlong… Because of course people are not mating in real life.

At this point you'd think they want you kill other people before got forbid trying to unleash your solid snake

 

[Nydius]

American puritans once again ruining stuff for gamers since the 90s

Wasn't it an Australian outfit that took credit for pressuring payment processors into making these changes? Don't blame Americans for this one.

 

[Pejo]

I don't think anyone cries about that infamous rape game getting removed from steam.
But the trend swapping over to harmless erotic games is concerning.

Really makes you think why this is only happening to games, not other media.
But i guess the hatred towards games is just much bigger for some people…

Adult games have no collective or bribing lobbying ability. If they try this stuff with the porn industry at large, I'm assuming it won't go as smoothly because of the money behind it.

So they're probably trying to take down the easy targets and use the momentum to go for bigger targets.

Personally I think this is a good opportunity for the government to review the policies and implement some regulations for these huge payment processors, but of course, that will never happen.

At least Japan is doing something about Visa's monopoly in their own market. Hopefully that catches on and other nations at least examine it. Too much corruption for a chance of it though, I'd imagine.

 

[xrnzaaas]

This seems to be a good moment to look into cryptocurrencies to manage transacations. I don't see how the biggest governments will do anything in response to the removals and censorship demands, only Japan seems to be fighting back.

 

[Plies]

These types of games will find another platform, relax gooners.

 

[rkofan87]

This is honestly kind of insane.

I don't want to hear any horseshit from people about how it's just a couple of stupid smut games. If you don't see where this leads, you're a fucking idiot.

this 1000%

 

[rkofan87]

These types of games will find another platform, relax gooners.

 

[Nydius]

These types of games will find another platform, relax gooners.

I don't care about these types of games but the issue here isn't platform, it's payment. Doesn't matter what platform they end up on if the payment processors make it impossible to purchase any of them.

 

[Plies]

I don't care about these types of games but the issue here isn't platform, it's payment. Doesn't matter what platform they end up on if the payment processors make it impossible to purchase any of them.

Then we need a decentralized solution.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

 

[Eesha]

didn't Tumblr shut down after they banned NSFW stuff?

while Steam can kinda tank this kind of removal, im not sure if Itch.io can.

 

[MagiusNecros]

It's over guys. No one will be able to buy GTA6 now.
----
Something tells me what these payment processors are doing something illegal and I hope a solution is found sooner then later. Soon enough we will have situations where you won't be able to buy Mcdonalds because the payment processor only wants you to buy Wendy's.

 

[Plies]

didn't Tumblr shut down after they banned NSFW stuff?

Betamax died under similar circumstances, while VHS thrived.

 

[Haint]

Isn't this the store that's got some new social justice bundle every other week? 95% of their staff and audience must be ultra woke BLM LGBTQ+ Furry communists. I thought those guys were pro sex workers and hated christian fundamentalists.

 

[rkofan87]

Isn't this the store that's got some new social justice bundle every other week? 95% of their audience must be ultra woke BLM LGBTQ+ Furry communists. I thought those guys were pro sex workers and hated christian fundamentalists.

same i still do not get why the woke hate sexy women.

 

[TintoConCasera]

same i still do not get why the woke hate sexy women.

'cause they are fat.

 

[Zeusexy]

This is insanely dangerous. How long until they come for controversial topics and wrongthink? I mean, they already did it with Patreon not too long ago. These processors hold too much power.

 

[Astray]

This is why Valve should not have capitulated.

If they didn't acquiesce then they would have had to deal with their entire business imploding.

The correct answer would have been to actually moderate your content and correctly age-gate it BEFORE it gets released.

 

[Astray]

same i still do not get why the woke hate sexy women.

The wokes have been screeching at this one even more lol.

 

[Sakura]

I don't think anyone cries about that infamous rape game getting removed from steam.
But the trend swapping over to harmless erotic games is concerning.

Really makes you think why this is only happening to games, not other media.
But i guess the hatred towards games is just much bigger for some people…

Well, that is the thing right? You either defend all of free speech, or you don't defend any of it.
It's silly to assume things would just stop at a certain point. Once you create the precedent, it becomes easier to get more and more stuff banned/removed. Who decides where the line is drawn? Who can claim that the line will never move?

 

[Poppinfresh]

The correct answer would have been to actually moderate your content and correctly age-gate it BEFORE it gets released.

This.

Also, not allowing extremely deviant content would also be a good start. We don't need 10,000 trans incest simulators, etc... on a gaming platform.

That said, if groups like Collective Shout want to do some actual good, they would go after sites like Reddit, Porn Hub, and other "real" porn platforms. The porn industry is rife with trafficking and abuse. Of course, at that point the payment processors may start ignoring them because of the potential for lost revenue.

 

[Jesb]

Ah, the ages long hypocrisy. It's alright to show absolutely insane levels of violence, psychological abuse and extreme political positions.

But god almighty forbids you, if you show a tiddie or a schlong… Because of course people are not mating in real life.

It really is funny isn't it, somehow that's crossing the line.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I'll say it again. The problem is not censorship, the problem is how it is enforced and by whom with which legitimation. If a democracy decides it wants to censor certain things, that's fine. Majority rule and all. In this case, however, everyone's effectively being censored by people that were never voted for nor have a legal framework to stand on in order to justify their actions. This feels like a loophole in the system.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Just means more folks will have to commit adultery in VR Chat.

 

[Poppinfresh]

I'll say it again. The problem is not censorship, the problem is how it is enforced and by whom with which legitimation. If a democracy decides it wants to censor certain things, that's fine. Majority rule and all. In this case, however, everyone's effectively being censored by people that were never voted for nor have a legal framework to stand on in order to justify their actions. This feels like a loophole in the system.

Playing Devil's Advocate, if you believe in a free-market system, then payment processors should be able to decide which companies they do business with. You shouldn't be able to force them to process payments from companies they don't want to work with.

 

[Sentenza]

These types of games will find another platform, relax gooners.

I don't give a shit about any of these games and I still have problems with the idea.
Card companies should be there just to manage my money transactions, not to tell me where I can or can't spend my money on.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I don't give a shit about any of these games and I still have problems with the idea.
Card companies should be there just to manage my money transactions, not to tell me where I can or can't spend my money on.

A service will be set up where bitcoin payments will soon be a thing and there is no CEO for bitcoin to complain about gooner games.

 

[Sentenza]

A service will be set up where bitcoin payments will soon be a thing and there is no CEO for bitcoin to complain about gooner games.

I don't want to use bitcoin, though.

 

[Sephimoth]

Card companies need to stay in their lane

 

[Astray]

That said, if groups like Collective Shout want to do some actual good, they would go after sites like Reddit, Porn Hub, and other "real" porn platforms. The porn industry is rife with trafficking and abuse. Of course, at that point the payment processors may start ignoring them because of the potential for lost revenue.

Who says they don't? Similar groups in the US were behind an expose that got Pornhub under similar heat from payment processors.

Pornhub Just Purged All Unverified Content From the Platform

After changing its policies to ban unverified uploaders and Mastercard and Visa's decision to drop the platform entirely, Pornhub has removed millions of videos.

www.vice.com

 

[Sakura]

Playing Devil's Advocate, if you believe in a free-market system, then payment processors should be able to decide which companies they do business with. You shouldn't be able to force them to process payments from companies they don't want to work with.

They are acting as monopolies here though, which I think is discouraged in a free-market system. We say payment processors, but I think it is like 80 to 90% Visa/MC.

 

[Poppinfresh]

They are acting as monopolies here though, which I think is discouraged in a free-market system. We say payment processors, but I think it is like 80 to 90% Visa/MC.

The monopoly thing is a whole separate issue, although I think you could probably argue that they aren't a monopoly because AmEx and Discover exist and offer an alternative to Visa/MC payment processing.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I don't want to use bitcoin, though.

That's a shame because Visa & Master card don't want you buying gooner games.

 

[Sakura]

The monopoly thing is a whole separate issue, although I think you could probably argue that they aren't a monopoly because AmEx and Discover exist and offer an alternative to Visa/MC payment processing.

They aren't a literal monopoly (or Duopoly I guess) in that they don't control 100% of the market, but they have enough to exert significant control on the market. Antitrust laws typically don't require a company to actually have all the market, like how MS was sued for monopolizing the market even though alternatives existed.
And let's be real, sure, they exist as an alternative, but can a digital storefront like Steam realistically do business if they cut out Visa/MC? How many people outside the US even have an AmEx or Discover card? They'd also have to cut off PayPal too, because PayPal can't afford to lose Visa/MC either.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I thought the world was healing and degeneracy was back but I guess its going to get worse

Spoiler

for degenerates ofc, i dont play porn games so whatever and I doubt credit card companies will go after big corporations