Game store itch.io has “deindexed” adult content due to payment processor scrutiny

Just like Valve’s Steam had issues recently with payment providers, game store itch.io are facing the same problems with certain types of adult content.

Writing in a blog post on the store, itch founder Leaf Corcoran noted:

We have “deindexed” all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages. We understand this action is sudden and disruptive, and we are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change.

Corcoran named an organisation called Collective Shout that have “launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms”. Unfortunately, creators on the platform got no heads up. It was all very abrupt as the “situation developed rapidly”.

As a result of this the itch team are doing a “comprehensive audit” of all the content to ensure they meet whatever demands are placed on them from payment providers. This means certain content will be permanently removed from the store.

Initially, there were reports that itch were stopping payouts that spread across social media, but the official itch.io account on BlueSky stated:

We have not denied any payouts to creators as part of yesterday’s review. If there are any creators in which we are unable to process a payout for then we’ll contact them directly. We do understand that the eligibility message is confusing given the context so we’re updating the text on the notices

See the blog post on itch.io.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.