Itchio has reversed course on their changes to their NSFW policy in about one week.
Previously, On Itchio
Last July 24, we reported Itchio’s plans to deindex NSFW games from their platform. A lot of creators on itchio alleged that their games were unlisted or even removed without their knowledge.
Itchio made an official statement to clarify from all the misinformation. In their words:
We have “deindexed” all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages.
In other words, itchio changed their site so that NSFW games and content could not be searched for by name. They also directly named Collective Shout and payment processors for forcing them to change policies, in a way that’s tantamount to censorship of NSFW games.
The Changes Led To Some Conclusion
Later, we reported on the recent critical hit video game Mouthwashing being deindexed on itchio. Its developer Martin Halldin alleged that it was completely delisted because of its NSFW content.
Halldin later apologized after finding out the delisting happened because he did not follow their criteria for listing.
Jumping To Today
Itchio’s owner Leaf Corcoran shared an update with some good and bad news.
Corcoran said this:
Today, we are re-indexing free adult NSFW content. We are still in ongoing discussions with payment processors and will be re-introducing paid content slowly to ensure we can confidently support the widest range of creators in the long term.
That sounds good so far. Corcoran makes it clear their policy changes will no de facto censor NSFW games. Creators who make NSFW games for free, such as hobbyists, or devs sharing side projects, can freely share their games on itchio again.
Itchio’s New Content Warning Policy
Corcoran revealed NSFW games will now get content warnings:
We are also implementing a new “content warnings” system for pages tagged as NSFW. To be eligible for indexing, all page owners will be required to complete this.
This feature is not yet ready, but we will post an update when it is. If your page was previously indexed, you will have a time window to complete this requirement to avoid going in and out of indexing.
This is a reasonable compromise for the situation as well. Gamers who want NSFW games may even them more easily thanks these changes.
Stripe Declares Their Policy
Corcoran passed along payment processor Stripe’s statement to him:
Stripe is currently unable to support sexually explicit content due to restrictions placed on them by their banking partners, despite card networks generally supporting adult content (with the appropriate registrations). Stripe has indicated that they hope to be able to support adult content in the future.
So Stripe has given itchio users hope that they could accept adult content in the future. But itchio may need to add ‘appropriate registrations’ as Stripe describes them in the future. That could be something Steam could add in the future for their systems to achieve the same thing.
Itchio’s Action Plan
Corcoran ends with this:
We are in the process of talking with other payment partners to accept card payments that Stripe is unable to process. We disabled Stripe payments last week on pages identified as having “adult NSFW content.”
Now that we have a more specific definition from Stripe, we may review that initial list for potential re-introduction. However, our long-term plan is to implement one or more new processors to avoid putting the platform at risk.
Thankfully, Corcoran is demonstrating he is willing to stand by his principles, to protect not just itchio, but what it stands for. We don’t know if he can find solutions that will make everyone happy, but we appreciate that he’s going to find ways to do it. And in this way, itchio could be leading the direction the video game industry will follow.
