As Steam and Itch.io face pressure from payment processors to delist certain types of adult games, smaller platforms are addressing the same concerns. Zoom Platform, a DRM-free digital games store, has issued a statement after receiving word of similar concerns from payment processors affirming its commitment to prevent such delistings.
"One of our payment processors made us aware that a 'fellow member of the industry' was concerned about our content," Zoom Platform says in a statement. "After we heard from the payment processor, we immediately engaged in lengthy discussions with both PayPal and Stripe. We worked with our contacts at the aforementioned payment processors to develop a tripartite solution to ensure the right to free speech and freedom of expression as well as protect the safety of our valued customers and partners."
Zoom Platform has added an opt-in option for two-factor authentication, and is adding a wallet system that will allow "users to add funds to their account and spend them on all of our products" – presumably preventing any individual transaction for an adult title from coming under scrutiny.
"We have no plans to remove any titles, and will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent such de-listings," the company says. "We are fervent supporters of artistic freedom and always will be."
The site hosts an eclectic mix of PC games, ranging from old-school edutainment titles to beloved cult classics, retro oddities, and yes, a handful of adult games. The company's original executive chairman, Bernie Stolar, had quite a legacy in the video game business, having overseen the North American launches of both the PS1 and Sega Dreamcast.
Zoom Platform is perhaps most notable as the one place you can currently buy legal, digital copies of the OG Duke Nukem side-scrollers. A representative of the platform tells GamingOnLinux that, in the company's discussions, "Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, and Saints Row were described as potentially at risk."
While much of the pushback against these adult game delistings has focused on the idea that no "legal and responsibly made" title should be censored, many share Zoom Platform's concern that non-pornographic games will also soon be in the firing line. The developers of viral co-op climbing game Peak say "it'd be foolish to assume that any game is safe," and it's not without reason.
Pressure on payment processors to pull down adult titles from digital stores has been spearheaded by a charity group called Collective Shout, which has been around since 2010. Collective Shout previously supported efforts to get GTA 5 pulled from some Australian retailers, and efforts to kill mature games have been going back literal decades. How far this current push goes remains to be seen.
