In the past weeks, a firestorm erupted online after both itch.io and Steam came under pressure from payment processors to delist games with adult content. This pressure led to the mass deindexing of games containing specific adult themes, sparking concerns about censorship among online commenters. In an update to actions on NSFW content on their platform, itch.io is now actively seeking new payment processors to fund this content in the future.
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On July 24th, itch.io released an FAQ in response to its abrupt removal of NSFW content, citing a pressure campaign from the anti-objectification of women activist group Collective Shout.
“Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io,” said the FAQ. “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.”
Collective Shout released an open letter on July 11th, directly addressed to corporate leaders of the payment processors who enable platforms like Steam and itch.io to function. The letter accused payment processors of enabling violent and sexual adult content on their platforms that harms women and children.
“We request that you demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games,” said the open letter.
Now, in a July 28th update to the FAQ, itch.io defended its actions in response to the pressure campaign and announced that it was actively seeking new payment processors. The online gaming platform explained that, as a smaller company than Steam, they had to take harsher actions to ensure compliance with payment processors. They also claim to have had limited ability to “push back” while also protecting their other creators.
“If we lose our ability to accept payments from a partner like PayPal or Stripe, we impact the ability of all creators to do business,” said itch.io in the FAQ update. “Losing PayPal, for instance, would prevent us from sending payouts to many people. Our actions were taken to protect our payment processing abilities for as much of the platform as possible.”
Things are still up in the air for itch.io as they await “final determinations” from Stripe and PayPal regarding which NSFW style games will ultimately be allowed to remain monetized on the platform. While they wait, itch.io claims to have been “actively reaching out” to other payment processors who would be willing to process transactions for Adult content.
There has been recent political enthusiasm to make the internet and online gaming spaces safer for vulnerable groups. A new UK law, the Online Safety Act, which came into effect this week, has tightened age verification requirements for the country’s citizens to protect children from harmful online content. Xbox has stated that it will implement similar measures in other regions in the future, following its investment in creating the process for the UK.
However, a growing number of voices online have been critical of these political measures, which they view as attempts at censorship or risks to online privacy. A Change.org petition calling for an end to payment processor influence over games has garnered nearly 200,000 signatures in the wake of the Steam and itch.io controversy. Unfortunately, the gaming public has little leverage against the tight control these payment processors exert.
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