Just like Valve's Steam had issues recently with payment providers, game store itch.io are facing the same problems with certain types of adult content.
Writing in a blog post on the store, itch founder Leaf Corcoran noted:
We have “deindexed” all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages. We understand this action is sudden and disruptive, and we are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change.
Corcoran named an organisation called Collective Shout that have "launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms". Unfortunately, creators on the platform got no heads up. It was all very abrupt as the "situation developed rapidly".
As a result of this the itch team are doing a "comprehensive audit" of all the content to ensure they meet whatever demands are placed on them from payment providers. This means certain content will be permanently removed from the store.
Initially, there were reports that itch were stopping payouts that spread across social media, but the official itch.io account on BlueSky stated:
We have not denied any payouts to creators as part of yesterday's review. If there are any creators in which we are unable to process a payout for then we'll contact them directly. We do understand that the eligibility message is confusing given the context so we're updating the text on the notices
See the blog post on itch.io.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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pb a day ago
Liam Dawe a day ago
dmoonfire a day ago
I like Itch and I know they were put into a nasty position by people (Collective Shout, but there are others) manipulating a system that makes moral decisions beyond the view of the public (Mastercard, Visa). It is also part of the bigger war against adult topics, if you include the age verification laws and regulations being thrown around. And the big question is are they going to do the same thing when more attacks come in?
While none of my games are on Itch, I do have some books. And they have topics states like Tennessee has a problem with (a single sentence of "adult" content qualifies as requiring hourly age verifications), so I'm emotionally involved with how Itch is going to handle the increasingly thorny issue of adult games even after they go through and remove the content that Collective Shout is pressuring against.
I am of the opinion that Collective Shout is testing the waters of what can be done so they know how to further erode options.
Linux_Rocks a day ago
amatai a day ago
* I love how English is so full of understatement when talking about sex.
Are we at a point again where hysterical lunatics decide what people are allowed to play or watch or listen to? Maybe somebody should start a campaign against *them*...
elmapul a day ago
" It is also part of the bigger war against adult topics, if you include the age verification laws and regulations being thrown around. And the big question is are they going to do the same thing when more attacks come in?"
im not against age verification (that actually work, not an button asking if you are over 18) for adult content, but that show how much of a slipery slope this can be.
for exampe if porn is rendered illegal on your country tomorrow, and you have to prove that you are legally allowed to access somethin to access any 18+ content, they you cant access anything in your country without runing a lot of risk.
another more likely scenario, porn will not be ilegal, but payment processors/credit card companies will see what you've being purchasing/funding , so even if you find another service that stil sell this content, they can punish you directly instead of going after just the ones seling +18 content, they can render your bank account null and void.
for those who said, if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to see, i hope you are happy.
pb a day ago
...always have been... maybe with a brief pause here and there...
Salvatos a day ago
Last edited by Salvatos on 26 Jul 2025 at 4:34 am UTC
Trias a day ago
what happen to the content that peope already purchased? it still can be downloaded?
Yes, I can still download my games, even those that were "suspended by an itch.io administrator.". So it's not *that* bad.
At the same time it is not good also - some of those games were in [more-or-less-]active development, and I'm unlikely to receive any updates through itch now...
:(.
poisond 23 hours ago
Random companies being able to decide on what content is acceptable across all platforms is just plain lunacy.
Last edited by poisond on 26 Jul 2025 at 12:32 pm UTC
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