Itch.io Is Restoring NSFW Games—as Long as They’re Free

On Thursday, indie gaming platform Itch.io began re-indexing some of the adult content it had delisted last month amid pressure from conservative groups and payment processors over its hosting of NSFW titles. While the move returns some content to the site’s searchable catalog, it impacts only those games, comics, and other offerings that are already free and therefore not caught in the current payment debacle.

“We are still in ongoing discussions with payment processors and will be reintroducing paid content slowly to ensure we can confidently support the widest range of creators in the long term,” Itch founder Leaf Corcoran wrote in a post on the site.

Itch and gaming platform Steam began delisting or outright removing games with adult content in July. Conservative group Collective Shout targeted both platforms as part of what the group says was an effort to get what it alleges are “rape and incest” games removed from the platforms.

Valve, which runs Steam, began removing hundreds of games after Collective Shout put pressure on its payment processors, urging the banking institutions not to do business with the company over the content on its platform. When the group did the same thing to Itch’s payment processors, Itch reportedly delisted more than 20,000 titles with NSFW tags, sparking protest campaigns against financial institutions like Visa and Mastercard. The delistings have impacted thousands of creators, including marginalized developers who identify as queer, trans, and BIPOC.

If Itch can't come to an agreement with its payment processors, the company will effectively be unable to sell anything to customers. Corcoran says that one of its earliest processors, Stripe, has confirmed that it “will not be able to support adult content that fits the following definition: ‘content designed for sexual gratification.’”

In a statement given to WIRED, Mastercard says it has “not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity” on gaming platforms. “Our payment network follows standards based on the rule of law,” spokesperson Seth Eisen says. “Put simply, we allow all lawful purchases on our network. At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.”

When asked how the company was identifying illegal adult content on the platforms, Eisen directed WIRED to a policy the company posted in 2021 stipulating that vendors use "strong content control measures on sites where our products are accepted."

Itch’s and Valve’s removals have been unpopular with both the gaming community and creators. On Steam, some developers believe their games have been unfairly impacted as part of Collective Shout’s efforts. Vile: Exhumed creator Cara Cadaver tells WIRED she was told that her game was kicked off of Steam because of “sexual content with depictions of real people,” which she says is inaccurate. “Anyone who got the chance to play the game knows it is all implied,” Cadaver says. “The game has a lot of gore and violent themes, but that was the reason given.”

Cadaver says that not being able to release on Steam “drastically decreases” the game’s potential reach. “Steam is the largest video game storefront,” she says. “Less people will be able to play Vile or even know it exists.”

Valve has not responded to multiple requests for comment. The company confirmed to PC Gamer in July it had removed some games that violated “rules and standards set forth by our payment processors and their related card networks and banks.”

Corcoran’s post on Thursday noted that Itch will be adding a new “content warnings” system for NSFW pages. The founder previously told WIRED that the platform is seeking alternative payment processors. Valve has yet to address changes to its platform since the initial news.