Steam has recently changed its rules, and it no longer allows games to release any kind of adult-only content via regular updates. Adding NSFW content with updates was seen as a loophole by some developers against Steam’s tightening its rules on adult material, but it seems that the platform caught wind of this exploit.
Back in July 2025, Steam started to remove some adult games from the platform after updating its publishing rules. Adult-only games were specifically targeted by Steam, and over 400 titles have been removed since then. Steam later explained that this decision was made because the company was notified by payment processors that some titles did not follow their rules for acceptable content. Later, it became known that an Australian activist group called Collective Shout was behind pressing payment processors for these changes. The decision enraged the community, but nevertheless, Steam maintained it.
Steam Dropping Support for Windows 10 32-Bit
Steam users who utilize the 32-bit version of Windows 10 now have a deadline to upgrade their operating systems before Valve drops support.
Valve No Longer Allows Post-Launch NSFW Content, Unless It's a New DLC
The newest chapter of the controversy happens as Steam has changed its rules to close a potential loophole, not allowing games to add any kind of adult-only content in regular updates, only in DLCs. One developer from Tales of Legendary Lust Aphrodisia commented on the changes, confirming that the game went into the review process early in August, and the team was informed of the new rule. However, the dev did not blame Valve for the changes, recognizing the outside pressure from payment providers. This change follows on the heels of another controversial one, which saw adult-themed games being prevented from releasing in Early Access on the platform.
The censorship enforced by Steam did not sit well with most developers. Earlier this year, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) issued a statement condemning the recent wave of Steam censorship, claiming it would affect LGBTQ+ games and marginalized creators.
Gamers have also shown to be unhappy with the changes. An anti-Steam censorship petition has surpassed 250,000 signatures recently. The number of signatures was much larger than Collective Shout's original campaign when it went against NSFW games.
Another popular PC gaming platform has followed a similar path to Steam, as Itch.io also cracked down on adult games back in July. The platform initially de-indexed all NSFW content from public pages and performed a “full audit” of the titles hosted on the website. This affected many games, as the blanket delistings got even some fairly popular titles. Like Steam, Itch.io was also scrutinized for the decision, but it did not back down from the changes yet.
Steam is a digital video game storefront and program developed by Valve that allows gamers to purchase, play, and mod their titles all through one convenient program.
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