Itch Shares A List Of Everything That Will Get A Game Banned From Its Storefront

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen a huge change in how gaming storefronts moderate the games that they host. Although it is more accurate to say that it is not the storefronts doing the moderating anymore, as these changes have come about after Steam and Itch faced pressure from payment processors, who in turn, were pressured by groups trying to censor adult video games.

Collective Shout has attracted the most attention; an anti-p*rnography campaign group headed by an anti-abortion feminist. The group has links to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in the US, a conservative anti-p*rn group that is against everything from sex education to same-sex marriage. While both of these groups – and more – have long called for certain games to be banned, Collective Shout has led this latest effort against Steam and Itch, with a method that would prevent either storefront from paying game developers and publishers if they do not comply.

In response to this, Itch has updated its FAQ for game devs and has outlined exactly what content could get a game banned from its storefront. The list uses broad language and covers a range of topics, and would seemingly ban the depiction of controversial, but not always illegal, topics regardless of context.

New Itch Guidelines Could See Many More Games Banned From The Platform

As highlighted by Bluesky user @papaira.bsky.social‬, this list was quietly added to Itch’s site without prior warning.

• “Non-consensual content (real or implied)”
• “Underage or “barely legal” themes”
• “Inc*st or pseudo-inc*st content”
• “B*stiality or animal-related”
• “R*pe, coercion, or force-related”
• “Sex trafficking implications”
• “Revenge p*rn / voyeur / hidden cam”
• “Fetish involving bodily waste or extreme harm (e.g., “scat,” “vomit”)”

These restrictions would limit games much more than other mediums. For instance, Game of Thrones featured almost everything on the list, and was broadcast by HBO for years. House of the Dragon has gone on to do the same. Then there’s also the fact that adult acts and material involving “bodily waste” are not illegal, making it unclear why it’s lumped in with sexual assault.

Even if Itch states these themes will only be banned when they are sexualised, we already know that context hasn’t mattered to Collective Shout in the past. For example, it previously campaigned to get Detroit: Become Human pulled from shelves for its depiction of domestic abuse, despite the player being against the abuser.

This list is just the latest development in the saga. Itch has already pulled adult games off the site, as it states it has to reassess the contents of games to make sure they comply with the demands of payment processors. If this is how each game will be assessed, then we could see a whole lot of work never return to Itch.

For the time being, Steam has kept most of its adult games up, but has stated that they can be removed if there is pressure from payment processors.

Brand

Valve

Original Release Date

September 12, 2003

Original MSRP (USD)

N/A

Weight

N/A

Hardware Versions

Steam