Not long ago, Valve began blocking the sale of many mature and adult-themed games on Steam. A similar thing happened on itch.io after pressure from payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and eventually PayPal.
In July 2025, Steam quietly updated its publishing guidelines to align with the demands of these financial partners. This led to the removal of hundreds of adult-themed games. While some removals were likely justified, it set an uneasy precedent. Many players questioned why it should matter what someone buys if they’re using their own money.
