Last week, the typically indie digital-games storefront Itch.io deindexed a majority of not safe for work (NSFW) or adult content. Deindexing doesn’t mean that the games are all no longer available, but it does mean you can no longer find them through searching on the site. This came after the organisation Collective Shout launched a campaign against both Itch.io and Steam demanding that payment processors prevent the sale of particular forms of content. Now, in an updated FAQ from Itch.io, the storefront has shared that it’s looking to work with other payment processors that do allow NSFW and adult content.
Explaining the timeline for these changes, Itch.io wrote, “The situation is evolving as we await final determinations from our current payment processors, Stripe and PayPal. There are still unknowns that prevent us from providing a fixed timeline.
“In the meantime, we are actively reaching out to other payment processors that are more willing to work with this kind of content. We have suspended the ability to pay with Stripe for 18+ content for the foreseeable future. Our immediate focus has been on content classification reviews and implementing stricter age-gating on the site.”
The expanded FAQ also explained why so many more games have been removed from Itch.io as opposed to Steam: “The difference in our responses stems from the difference in our platforms. Steam is a “closed” platform where every product page is approved before it appears on the store. Because they were generally aware of the content they host, they could identify and act on specific pages.
“Itch.io is an open, “UGC” (User-Generated Content) platform. With over 2 million product pages, anyone can publish content at any time with minimal barriers. We could not rely on user-provided tagging to be accurate enough for a targeted approach, so a broader review was necessary to be thorough.”
Since the changes took place, payment processors like Visa and Mastercard have also been inundated with emails and phone calls in an effort to push back against the banning of adult content. The International Game Developers Association has also released a statement condemning the move.
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