Itch.io Purges NSFW Games Under Payment Pressure
Indie video game marketplace Itch.io deindexed all adult and not-safe-for-work (NSFW) games from its search and browse pages this week to safeguard its payment processing infrastructure following a targeted advocacy campaign.
Why Itch.io Is Deindexing NSFW Games
The sudden policy shift comes in response to an aggressive campaign led by Collective Shout, an advocacy group known for its prior criticisms of video games, rap music, and lingerie advertisements. The group targeted both Itch.io and Steam for hosting “No Mercy,” a controversial title that depicts rape and incest.
In an open letter sent to top executives at PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and other financial institutions, Collective Shout argued that processing transactions for games depicting sexual abuse and torture directly contradicts the corporate values of these payment networks.
“We do not see how facilitating payment transactions and deriving financial benefit from these violent and unethical games, is consistent with your corporate values and mission statements,” the organization stated.
The Financial Pressure on Digital Marketplaces
This financial leverage quickly yielded results. Earlier this month, Valve announced that Steam would ban games violating the rules of its payment processors and banking networks.
Following suit, Itch.io explained that maintaining relations with its payment partners is essential to keeping the platform alive. To ensure compliance, the company felt forced to take immediate action.
According to the marketplace, “No Mercy” was temporarily hosted on the platform before being banned in April. However, as the situation escalated rapidly, Itch.io rushed to secure its core payment infrastructure, leaving no time to notify creators in advance.
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Platform Audits and Harsh Penalties for Creators
Currently, Itch.io is conducting a thorough audit to verify that all hosted games align with payment processor requirements. Until this review is complete, all NSFW content will remain hidden from search and browse pages. Once cleared, developers of adult content must explicitly confirm that their games comply with the rules of the payment processors linked to their accounts.
This sudden enforcement has sparked severe backlash on social media. Critics point to Itch.io‘s current terms, which state that adult content violations result in permanent bans with no option for appeal. Furthermore, any funds remaining in a banned account are withheld. As one developer noted, this policy effectively allows the platform to seize all earnings a creator has ever made across all their projects.
A Growing Trend of Financial Censorship
This incident is part of a broader pattern of financial institutions dictating content policies online. Last year, Gumroad tightened its rules on NSFW art citing payment processor restrictions, while OnlyFans famously blamed banking partners when it briefly attempted to ban explicit content before reversing the decision.
In response to this growing trend, a Change.org petition has garnered over 137,000 signatures. The petition calls on Visa and Mastercard to stop censoring legal fictional content and urges them to reject pressure from activist groups driving moral panics.
