Steam Stands Firm on Adult Content Amid Payment Processor Pressure 🎮💥

[etfs]

Crimson Delight Games, developers of Tales of Legendary Lust: Aphrodisia, revealed that Steam blocked updates intended to add more NSFW content—but the team doesn’t blame Valve. In a Reddit discussion, they praised Steam for being supportive throughout the review process, saying the platform “stood up for developers” rather than giving in to external pressures.

The real challenge, according to the developers, comes from credit card companies reacting to campaigns by activist group Collective Shout, which urged payment processors to halt transactions for games with adult or controversial themes. While itch.io had to remove its NSFW section to comply, Steam has kept adult content available, ensuring developers still have a space on the platform.

The team emphasized that Valve’s NSFW policies haven’t changed post-launch and credited the company for resisting calls to remove the 18+ section entirely—even though adult titles are a minor revenue slice compared to flagship releases like Silksong.

This episode highlights how payment processors, not platforms, are increasingly shaping the future of adult content in gaming—and the delicate balancing act developers face in distributing NSFW games.

[Rimon Khan]

Interesting take Steam actually backing devs here instead of folding under pressure

[Nahid Hossen]

Credit card companies blocking payments is the real bottleneck ️ Not the platforms themselves.