Information on NSFW Games and Between Humanity

Hey guys!

You may have seen by now that itch.io has temporarily de-indexed all adult NSFW games from their site. You can read their official statement here: itch.io’s update on NSFW content.

How does this affect my game?
Right now, this doesn't change much for me, so I mostly want to give you guys a head up and share my thoughts. According to itch.io, this block is temporary while they sort out their stuff. I assume that they'll add a checkbox which says that you're complying to the rules of their payment processors. My game doesn't contain any of the content that caused these bans, everything in the story is fully consensual. So, as far as I can tell, the game is safe under the current rules, especially since it's also on Patreon, which has already strict guidelines.

I also want to say that I'm not relying on this project as my full-time income. Many devs do, they're hit a lot harder by this than I am, and I feel for them. For me, working part-time on this project comes with its own hurdles, but the one good thing is, it is not an existential threat to my livelihood. I'm still sad, angry, and disappointed about this whole situation but I'm doing okay mentally. I just hope this doesn't escalate into an outright ban on all NSFW content since I still dream of doing this full-time at some point.

What now?
As long as Patreon and SubscribeStar stay up, I'll keep working on the game like always. So please don't worry, the development goes on. I have made some dedicated posts for the latest release and pinned them on top of Patreon/SubscribeStar, so you can easily find everything if necessary.

For anyone who prefers it, the SFW version of the game, Beyond Humanity, is up now and won't be affect by any of this. So if you'd rather play the story without adult content, that option is now there for you, at least for Chapter 1. It is a prototype which I want to test out if people would like to get their hands on. There is no difference in content to Between Humanity other than the removal of the NSFW scenes.

• https://debatingpanda.itch.io/beyond-humanity

If you'd like to show support for indie NSFW creators, here are some petitions pushing back against this overreach by payment processors:

• https://chng.it/GBngJjWktv

• https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy

The future?
If itch.io doesn't continue to support NSFW creators, it might be worth looking for novels through a site that only lists and rates them, without hosting downloads or needing payment providers but provide links to the developer's pages instead. I haven't tested it myself, but I found my game on it, so it can't be that bad, right?

• https://www.gamestorylog.com/

I appreciate you all for sticking with me. Let's hope this gets resolved soon and that adult creators can keep doing what they love (in a legal manner) without payment companies trying to police art.

Thank you for reading this far. The news hit like a truck today, but things have calmed down a bit, at least on my end. So I'll close this with a big thank you for your continued support. Let's see what the future holds for us adult story lovers.

-Panda

TL;DR: Between Humanity doesn't break any rules (no illegal or non-consensual content). There is a 'copy' of the game without NSFW elements called Beyond Humanity on itch.io now. The itch.io NSFW block is temporary. I'm still developing the game, nothing really changed.