Indie storefronts face tough choices as Visa and Mastercard draw the line on NSFW content.
Indie gaming platform itch.io has started pulling adult and NSFW titles from its storefront, marking another major shift in how explicit games are handled online. According to a report by Polygon, the move came in response to mounting pressure from payment processors like Visa and Mastercard, which also pushed Steam to do delist games from its storefront earlier this month.
As of Thursday, adult content on itch.io is no longer searchable or visible on the site. In some cases, entire game pages are being permanently removed. While the decision was made swiftly, itch.io says it was left with little choice if it wanted to keep its payment systems running.
Sudden removals confuse developers because of “vague guidelines”
Games with NSFW themes are now either hidden from search results or removed entirely. According to Polygon, some game pages have already been taken offline permanently. The platform’s founder, Leaf Corcoran, explained in a blog post that the move was necessary to protect itch.io’s ability to process payments through major providers such as Visa and Mastercard.
Collective Shout campaign triggered scrutiny from payment processors
In a statement released on the itch.io blog on Monday (29 July), itch.io founder Leaf Corcoran explained that “Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io.”
“It’s a time-critical moment for itch.io,” Corcoran wrote. “We had to act urgently to protect the platform’s core payment infrastructure.” He acknowledged the frustration from affected developers, adding that the platform had no time to provide advance warning.
The next step for adult content creators will involve updated policies to include required confirmation that their content complies with the rules of their linked payment processors. These changes are still being developed, and will be announced in a follow-up post.
He also cited a campaign by the Australian organisation Collective Shout, which raised concerns over adult content found on both Steam and Itch.io. The group reportedly contacted payment processors directly, prompting a broader review of platform compliance.
As a result, many adult games were temporarily delisted from public visibility. Corcoran clarified that these games haven’t been removed, only deindexed, while the platform undergoes an audit.
“Pages will remain deindexed as we complete our review,” he said. Some creators may see their work permanently removed depending on the outcome of this process, with notices sent by email.
Censorship or compliance?
The shift has revived broader conversations around who gets to decide what content is acceptable in games. While itch.io’s decision was framed as a necessity to preserve payment functionality, fans and creators worry that external forces, particularly conservative lobbying groups, are quietly reshaping the boundaries of what can be published.
Earlier this year, the Australian group Collective Shout sent an open letter to payment providers calling out platforms that “profit from rape, incest + child abuse” games.
Although some titles mentioned in the letter, such as the rape simulator game No Mercy, had already been removed before the group took action, the campaign has since expanded to criticising games like Huniepop and Detroit: Become Human, as titles that either include some sexual content or explore mature themes, but are not categorised as adult games by most storefronts.
Community pushback gains momentum
Concern over video game delistings has since grown across forums and social media. Many argue that these campaigns could pave the way for broader censorship, especially for games featuring LGBTQ+ themes or unconventional storytelling.
“’It's only rape and incest games, why are you against this?!’ Look at that, it's already expanding to anything NSFW in general,” Redditor Jacksaur pointed out.
“Payment processors do not have the authorization, the mandate, and the right to play the role of a morality censorship,” Redditor Neinstein14 added. “They are not elected, and there is no legal foundation and framework that controls and limits how they could act as such a body.”
Neinstein14 also said that everyone should “push for preventive regulations worldwide, however, you can in your area.” Like many other Redditors, they cited the Stop Killing Games People’s Initiative in Europe.
Beyond the games themselves, the policy shift has started to affect the surrounding ecosystem. A recent Change.org petition aimed at limiting the influence of payment processors over content decisions has gathered over 176,280 signatures, as of time of writing.
Some supporters are even calling on governments to step in, proposing bills that would restrict financial services from interfering with digital marketplaces based on political or reputational pressure.
Meanwhile, coverage of these developments has met resistance. According to a report by Waypoint, a report critical of Collective Shout was quietly pulled by management at a major gaming outlet, prompting several freelancers to resign in protest.
Itch.io has stated that it will introduce new compliance requirements once its internal audit is complete. For now, adult content remains deindexed, and some pages may be permanently removed. Developers affected by the change will be contacted directly by the platform’s support team.
Further updates on the matter will be published on itch.io’s official blog, as the situation is still developing.
