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Between the new restrictions brought about by the UK Online Safety Act and payment processors targeting digital storefronts, possibly even spearheaded by Project 2025, adult games are under more pressure than ever. And one developer’s story encapsulates what so many others are undoubtedly going through.
Programmer u/Fit-Commercial-5681 posted their experience on r/LegalAdviceUK, claiming that PayPal has withheld £80,000 from them after discovering that the money was made by selling an adult game on Steam.
“This money was supposed to be used to pay a large corporation tax bill due in August,” they explained. “However, for [over four] weeks now, PayPal have refused to release ANY of the money to me. They interviewed me and asked where it came from. I said it came from programming work I did for video games. They asked me where the games were sold; I said Steam. Then they asked what specific game it was and demanded I link the store page.
When they realised it was an adult game, they refused to release my money.
“I linked the store page, and when they realised it was an adult game, they refused to release my money. They have also not refunded it to the lead developer. I’ve raised complaints that have gone NOWHERE. I’ve been told that I’ve violated PayPal’s terms of service […] The game we developed is perfectly legal. It doesn’t contain any genres that violate UK laws. It’s about cheating in relationships, basically.”
In particular, they are said to have breached this term: “You may not use the PayPal service for activities that […] relate to transactions involving… (i) certain sexually oriented materials or services.”
“We’re Desperately Trying To Find Another Solution”
Worse yet, they claimed that they, and the lead developer, have been ‘debanked’, which is what prompted them to use PayPal in the first place. “I’ve had my business accounts closed down by three major high street banks and rejected by almost every ‘app bank’ like Wise, Revolut, etc.,” u/Fit-Commercial-5681 said. “We didn’t have a choice”.
This all comes from a throwaway account with no indication of what the game is, or any proof of their claim, so it’s worth taking with a grain of salt. But with so many adult games being purged to satiate political groups like Collective Shout, and the payment processors they’ve been lobbying, u/Fit-Commercial-5681’s post is something that many adult game developers will likely relate to.
In u/Fit-Commercial-5681’s case, commenters advise that they seek the advice of a solicitor, explaining that PayPal has likely put the money on hold for a set period of time. How long that might be is unclear, and u/Fit-Commercial-5681 even alleges that an adult content creator reached out in support, claiming that they never received their money.
If nothing else, it’s clear that releasing adult games is only becoming a riskier venture, and unless bills like the one proposed earlier this year by Kevin Cramer are passed, it’s an issue that’s unlikely to get better any time soon.
- Brand
- Valve
- Original Release Date
- September 12, 2003
- Original MSRP (USD)
- N/A
- Weight
- N/A
- Hardware Versions
- Steam
