UKIE addresses the removal of adult games from Steam and itch.io following pressure from payment service providers

The UK games industry association, UKIE, has issued a statement to GamesIndustry.biz concerning recent actions by Steam and itch.io to remove adult content from their platforms.

Itch.io recently confirmed the "deindexing" of all adult NSFW content in response to pressures from payment processing entities. In a similar move, Steam has also taken down several adult-only games, revising its policies to align with demands from payment processors.

In response, UKIE has directed these payment services and digital platforms to consider existing age rating frameworks, suggesting they place their trust in these systems. The detailed UKIE statement reads:

"The UK games industry supports creative freedom while remaining accountable to gamers. Effective age ratings play a vital role in helping individuals make informed choices about content consumption.

"Ukie strongly endorses the adoption of comprehensive rating systems like PEGI for all platforms, including those that offer adult or innovative content. This approach ensures proper content labelling, safeguards young audiences, and facilitates transparent publishing by creators.

"We maintain that payment providers and platforms should trust established age rating systems and their enforcement processes."

Itch.io identifies a campaign by Collective Shout as a catalyst for the current developments. In a statement, itch.io founder leafo explained, "Our payment processors recently scrutinized some content on itch.io," attributing the scrutiny to a campaign that arose due to a controversial game.

The game, No Mercy, was temporarily available on itch.io before its removal in April. Following this, Collective Shout initiated a campaign against Steam and itch.io, raising concerns with payment processors regarding specific content on the platforms.

On July 11, Collective Shout issued an open letter to payment processors, including PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and JCB, criticizing their profit from games depicting themes of rape, incest, and child abuse on Steam.