Indie digital game store Itch.io is relisting free NSFW (Not Safe for Work) games today, but paid content will remain hidden for now.
Last week indie digital game store Itch.io deindexed its entire NSFW games library from its store, a move which comes as payment providers have started scrutinising NSFW content on platforms such as update addressed to developers, Itch.io owner Leaf Corcoran posted an update stating that all free NSFW content would be returning to the site today.
“Today, we are re-indexing free adult NSFW content,” Corcoran wrote. “We are still in ongoing discussions with payment processors and will be re-introducing paid content slowly to ensure we can confidently support the widest range of creators in the long term.”
Developers who want their NSFW game to be listed on Itch.io will have to mark their game as “no payments” under the pricing section of its game’s details, and will have to complete a new “content warnings” system for pages tagged as NSFW.
Corcoran noted that paid NSFW games will remain delisted for now, as Itch.io tries to find a solution to payment providers’ concerns. One of the issues lies with Stripe, which has provided the “pay with card” option on Itch.io’s checkout page for more than 10 years.
According to Corcoran, Stripe confirmed that it can’t support adult content “designed for sexual gratification”, and that Itch.io was looking to add “one or more new processors to avoid putting the platform at risk”.
Stripe also provided the following message to users: “Stripe is currently unable to support sexually explicit content due to restrictions placed on them by their banking partners, despite card networks generally supporting adult content (with the appropriate registrations). Stripe has indicated that they hope to be able to support adult content in the future.”
Earlier this week the IGDA said it was “calling for greater transparency and fairness in how adult games are moderated and actioned across major platforms”.
“The IGDA is seriously alarmed by the recent wave of game delistings, deindexing, and payment disruptions targeting adult-themed titles on platforms such as Steam and Itch.io,” it said.
“Reports suggest these actions have been taken with little to no communication and have disproportionately harmed developers producing legal, consensual, and ethically-developed content, including creators from marginalized communities.”
It added: “Further reports suggest that recent policy changes are driven in large part by pressure from payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and others, who may threaten to withhold payment processing services from platforms hosting adult content. As a result, financial institutions are now influencing which stories can be told and sold in games, with minimal transparency or public accountability.”
