In a note to developers, Itch.io founder Leaf Corcoran has confirmed that free adult content will be re-indexed on the platform, alongside a new content warning system. It follows the wholesale de-indexing of adult content on the indie game marketplace due to pressure applied by an anti-pornography lobby group on major credit card processors.
Since Itch.io is much smaller than Steam, and is a user-generated content platform where material can be published "with minimal barriers", Itch.io was forced to take a sledgehammer approach to content removal after it came under the scrutiny of its payment processors. Reindexing free material—which doesn't require payment processing—is the first step towards addressing a problem that was impossible for the platform to immediately fix with any nuance.
Announcing the re-indexing, Corcoran adds that "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." As Harvey Randall reported earlier this week, Itch.io is currently reaching out to alternative payment processors more willing to work with adult material.
One of itch.io's major payment processors isn't happy about the situation either. In a statement provided to Corcoran, a spokesperson for Stripe wrote that it's "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," the statement concludes. In a conversation with Stripe, Corcoran learned that the company cannot support adult content "designed for sexual gratification". With that definition in mind, Corcoran writes that "we may review that initial list for potential re-introduction." To me, that still seems like a prohibitively vague definition.
"However," Corcoran adds, "our long-term plan is to implement one or more new processors to avoid putting the platform at risk."
The debacle is traceable to the Australian lobby group Collective Shout, which earlier this month sent an open letter to major payment processors including Paypal, Mastercard, and Visa, demanding that the companies "demonstrate corporate social responsibility and immediately cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io and any other platforms hosting similar games."
