itch.io forced to „deindex” NSFW games after pressure from payment processors

Today, itch.io, the indie digital game store, follows in the footsteps of Steam by deindexing “all adult NSFW content on [its] browse and search pages.” This has been a major topic for gaming storefronts lately, following the organization Collective Shout’s open letter to payment processors, which digital storefronts like Steam and Itch.io rely on. At the time of writing, a petition on Change.org has garnered over 50,000 verified signatures, requesting that companies like Visa and MasterCard “stop censoring legal fictional content that complies with the law and platform standards,” among other demands.

Itch.io deindexes all adult NSFW content following pressure from payment processors

Itch.io’s statement explains, “Our ability to process payments is critical for every creator on our platform. To ensure that we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritize our relationship with our payment partners and take immediate steps towards compliance.” The threat of payment processors withdrawing support put itch.io in a precarious position that could have potentially removed everyone’s ability to receive payments. This forced their hand, as they explain: “The situation developed rapidly, and we had to act urgently to protect the platform’s core payment infrastructure.” Itch.io apologized to its creators for the lack of warning and the abruptness of the action.

According to the statement, itch.io is also taking up the monumental task of “conducting a comprehensive audit of content to ensure we can meet the requirements of our payment processors.” After the audit, Itch.io will introduce new compliance measures in which creators will need to confirm that their NSFW content “is allowable under the policies of the respective payment processors linked to their account.”

This entire situation appears to have been initiated by a specific game and spearheaded by a specific organization. “Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organization Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms.”

On Reddit, gamers are rallying together to effect change. Users heard reports that the organization Collective Shout has had roughly 1,000 people calling Visa and MasterCard, and decided to follow suit, sharing those numbers and emails so that they can “start clogging up their phone lines and email inboxes. Annoy them until they feel forced to reverse the decision… Regardless of how you feel about the content, NSFW or otherwise, payment processors should not have the power to tell people what they will and won’t process.” Reddit users have also shared a petition from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asking MasterCard to end its unjust policies, which has already garnered over 100,000 signatures.

Censorship is a topic worth discussing, but when companies are pushed into a corner and forced to act, it just makes the situation even messier. In the fallout of the drastic actions that itch.io took, other games are caught in the crossfire. Consume Me, a highly anticipated indie game that won the coveted Seumas McNally Grand Prize at GDC this year, is delisted. Even if you type in “Consume Me” into itch.io’s search bar, it does not appear. Thankfully, you can still link directly to the game’s itch.io page. Other winners of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize include highly praised indies like Inscryption, A Short Hike, Return of the Obra Dinn, Outer Wilds, and another small indie game you may have heard of: Minecraft. When censorship is employed in such a broad and careless manner, it often ends up doing more harm than good.

If this is something you care about, consider signing petitions and contacting payment processors via phone and email to share your thoughts. If this is how Collective Shout was able to force change, then gamers can do the same thing.

• Steam
• payment system