Steam suddenly started delisting games featuring adult content last week, confirming that it was pressured into doing so by payment processors. It seems thatitch.iohas now reluctantly followed inSteam’s footsteps, revealing that a campaign group called Collective Shout is the reason behind these widespread delistings, as suspected.
itch.io shared a statementon its website this morning confirming that it had “deindexed” games that breach new guidelines put in place by the same payment processors that forced Steam’s hand last week. That effectively means the games have been removed, but itch.io is currently reviewing all deindexed games and will release new compliance measures in due course.
itch.io has been forced to follow in Steam’s footsteps and start banning adult games
It has confirmed campaign group Collective Shout is behind the changes
Once its review is complete, developers of removed games will need to confirm their content is in keeping with the new guidelines put forward by payment processors. If not, the games will be permanently removed from the platform. The statement also confirms that a campaign against Steam and itch.io initiated by Collective Shout is indeed the reason for these sudden changes.
“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,” the statement reads. While Steam didn’t call out Collective Shout,the group claimed responsibility for the removal of adult games from Steam last week.
itch.io’s statement notes that this situation stems from a game called No Mercy being briefly available on its storefront earlier this year before it was subsequently banned in April.
Collective Shout has a history of trying to get games censored or outright banned. Previous examples include an attempt to getDetroit: Become Humanbanned in Australia, and evenGTA 5for including the ability to act violently towards female NPCs. As for the methods it has used to forcibly have games removed from Steam and itch.io, the group clearly knows that targeting payment processors was the easiest and quickest way to make something happen.
The changes also appear to have resulted in payouts to the developers of removed games being abruptly stopped. A threadshared by daff.space on Blueskyincludes a screenshot shared by a developer noting that they “are in violation of our terms are not elligible for payouts”. The same thread also suggests that more than 20,000 games have been affected by the new guidelines.
As itch.io details in its statement, and as Steam mentioned last week, the storefronts are effectively at the mercy of the companies that control how people pay for their games. If either storefront were to try and fight back against the new guidelines, the payment processors could shut up shop on the sites and effectively make them unusable.
“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,” itch.io’s statement reads, which is the unfortunate reality behind these changes.
