Earlier this month, digital PC game storefronts like Steam and Itch.io began to delist numerous adult games under pressure from major payment processors. Today, the IGDA – a decades-old independent organization representing game developers around the world – has issued a statement condemning the move, urging developers and players alike to contact companies like Visa and Mastercard and make their voices heard.
"The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is seriously alarmed by the recent wave of game delistings, deindexing, and payment disruptions targeting adult-themed titles on platforms such as Steam and Itch.io," the statement begins. "Reports suggest these actions have been taken with little to no communication and have disproportionately harmed developers producing legal, consensual, and ethically-developed content, including creators from marginalized communities."
The IGDA's statement echoes the concerns that players and a number of individual developers have expressed in recent weeks. Both Steam and Itch.io attribute the adult game crackdown to pressure from payment processors, and the latter site specifically calls out No Mercy, a controversial porn game depicting rape and incest, as having kicked off the whole thing. Adult games depicting incest and sexual assault have been the central targets of these delistings, but other titles have been caught in the crossfire as well.
"Developers report games being delisted or hidden despite prior approval or longstanding presence on these platforms," the IGDA's statement continues. "The lack of transparency around enforcement criteria, sudden shifts in policy, and an absence of appeal pathways leave creators with no clear path to compliance or recourse. Games that feature consensual adult content, including queer, kink-positive, or romantic narratives, are easily targeted under vague or overly cautious enforcement, often forcing developers into silence or self-censorship because platforms fear perceived risks associated with hosting legal adult content."
The statement calls out "payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and others, who may threaten to withhold payment processing services from platforms hosting adult content. As a result, financial institutions are now influencing which stories can be told and sold in games, with minimal transparency or public accountability."
To that end, the IGDA is making a call to action, urging "platforms, payment processors, and industry leaders to engage in dialogue with developers and advocacy organizations." It also asks readers to "communicate your concerns of financial censorship" by directly contacting both Visa and Mastercard, or participating in the various petitions against the actions of these companies.
Steam removing adult games shows "you can even censor another country’s free speech," claims Nier creator Yoko Taro.
