PC storefront Steam recently removed a large number of adult games from sale, prompting widespread outrage. Now, the situation has gotten considerably worse, as indie storefront Itch.io followed suit, not only removing swaths of games from sale, but hiding any game with content deemed inappropriate from view in searches. In both cases, the moves were made in response to demands from payment processes, driven at least in Itch.io’s case by a campaign from far-right activist group Collective Shout.
Itch.io began removing games late on July 23, and the move was quickly spread on social media by affected developers. While it would take until the next morning for the site to issue a formal statement, it was immediately clear what was happening. A week after Steam’s own mass delisting, Itch.io was removing a far larger number of games from sale entirely and hiding others from search. The Transfeminine Review reports that Itch.io is also withholding payment to developers of newly banned games. Itch.io did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
