Itch.io, the digital distribution platform known for its focus on independent game developers and other artists, has “deindexed” all NSFW content following discussions with payment processors contacted by the same Australian pressure group that recently targeted Steam.
Hints that something was afoot on the platform first surfaced on social media earlier today, as itch.io creators began reporting their NSFW games were no longer being displayed in search results. Alarm bells immediately began ringing given recent similar events on Steam, which saw Valve “retiring” unspecified NSFW titles and introducing vague new rules banning “certain kinds of adult content” from its store.
Itch.io’s response, meanwhile, has been even more drastic. It’s confirmed the deindexing, albeit temporarily, of “all” adult NSFW content from its browse and search pages. “We are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change,” platform founder Leaf Corcoran wrote in a statement shared on the website.
“Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io,” it continued. “Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organisation Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms.”
Collective Shout is an Australian pressure group claiming to be “against the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girl” and “for anyone against the pornification of culture”. Its previous video game activities have included calling for a ban on GTA 5 and promoting a 2018 petition to pull Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human, arguing it depicted “child abuse and violence against women”. More successful were its efforts to ban Tyler the Creator from touring the country in 2015.
In July, Collective Shout mounted a campaign against Steam and itch.io – presented as an “open letter to payment processors profiting from rape, incest, and child abuse games” – and later took credit for Steam’s decision to pull certain adult games, calling it a “win”. And its decision to pressure the likes of MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal has now had a similar impact on itch.io.
“Our ability to process payments is critical for every creator on our platform,” itch.io continued. “To ensure that we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritise our relationship with our payment partners and take immediate steps towards compliance. This is a time critical moment for itch.io. The situation developed rapidly, and we had to act urgently to protect the platform’s core payment infrastructure. Unfortunately, this meant it was not realistic to provide creators with advance notice before making this change. We know this is not ideal, and we apologise for the abruptness of this change.”
Itch.io says all NSFW pages on the platform will remain deindexed while it conducts a “comprehensive audit of content to ensure we can meet the requirements of our payment processors”, confirming the process will result in “some pages being permanently removed”. After that, “new compliance measures” will be introduced, including mandating that all creators “confirm that their content is allowable under the policies of the respective payment processors linked to their account.”
“We ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging period. I’m sorry we can not share more at this time as we are still getting a full understanding of the situation ourselves. We will post a follow up on our blog if the situation changes.”