Itch is now de-indexing all adult games.
Added 2025-07-24 02:48:42 +0000 UTCI get a lot of traffic from people browsing Itch, so this, combined with Steam heavily restricting adult content just as I'm planning to try to bring SS to that platform, is gonna be a big problem. I am committed to finishing what I start, but...this is really bad, guys, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. While I can continue making money through Patreon for now, if that ends, it will be curtains for us.
On top of that, I've always had weak discoverability and slow (but steady) growth, so losing the biggest driver of new players is a big hit to me. More than ever, if you like the games I've made, it's really helpful if you can share them, talk about them, or reccommend them to people in any relevant communities. I don't expect you to horny post about the game on main, but if you see someone on Reddit or F95 or somewhere asking for recs, give your old pal Artisan a little plug at least, okay?
And of course, please sign this petition. We shouldn't let banks decide what adults are allowed to buy. If these project 2025 anti-porn freaks want to make something illegal, they should have to pass a law, not do an end-run around the constitution by appealing to payment processor execs.
Thanks guys.
Comments
There are actually payment processors that specialize in adult content, but they have high fees. I don't believe the non-adult ones will work with companies that also use the adult ones though, it's sort of cartel behavior, honestly. I don't know all the details.
Outsider Artisan
2025-07-24 13:06:30 +0000 UTCAre there not other payment processors that itch or steam can switch to? I get that Visa and Mastercard control the vast majority of the market (and isn’t that just dandy), but not all of it.
Illue
2025-07-24 12:16:23 +0000 UTCThey just put out a statement after they received a lot of backlash on social media, but I don't think it was an accident they sneakily deindexed all adult games in the middle of the night (for most of their users) without comment. And at any rate, Itch already takes down illegal content, these takedowns are from payment processors who are responding to activitist freaks who are trying to ban content without doing the hard work of writing laws. They will always say it's for the kids, but these idiots are the same people who think the existence of trans people constitutes grooming, and everytime they get their way, they just end up pushing harder the next time.
Outsider Artisan
2025-07-24 08:07:40 +0000 UTCFrom what I was reading itch.io is just covering there own ass. They will be updating their terms of service to something closer to what Patreon already has. Temporarily they are blocking the search of all adult content. And then targeting Rape, Incest, and Child abuse. So as long as the games you play aren't raping your little sister. You should be fine
Laslyon
2025-07-24 07:59:52 +0000 UTC
