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gabrielle-writes · 15 days ago

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Steam, Itch.io and the banning of explicit and LGBT+ Content. What can we do?

[All images in this post have alt/id text if you need it or want to copy paste anything]

With no warning, Itch.io, a site where many host their indie games, comics, books and more, has started purging and shadowbanning explicit and LGBT+ works. Creators got no warning. And if they were still owed payouts from these works, Itch.io is saying they won't give them their money as they 'broke the rules'. Rules that were only just set in place, with no warning, and therefore no way for creators to try and draw out their money or delete these 'offending' works before they got banned under the new rules.

So Itch.io has been the most recent to fall to the demands of a group that's been contacting Visa and Mastercard and convincing them to threaten sites/businesses with 'stop selling what we consider to be explicit content on your sites of we'll stop allowing your site to have transactions with Visa and Mastercard'. Steam folded, and now Itchio has too. And a reminder earlier this year Gumroad also stopped allowing explicit content, further back than that Patreon banned some kinks and fetishes even if it's depicted in fiction not real life, and I don't have to explain to you guys the great Tumblr explicit content ban of 2018.

And as always remember this doesn't stop with sexually explicit work as LGBT+ stories and people are often labelled as explicit and already we're seeing works being taken off Itch.io that are about LGBT+ and especially trans stories. Other non-sexually explicit works I've seen already getting shadowbanned, delisted or deleted are SFW games featuring furries/anthros, SFW dress up games (because when you take the clothes the model is nude), and the aforementioned SFW games that include LGBT+ characters and stories.

I'm compiling here information I've seen around various social medias, mostly Bluesky, because I haven't seen all these things shared over here.

I don't personally have explicit content on itch, but I had been considering one day selling things on there and I do currently have explicit content on my Patreon, my main source of income, and am terrified that Patreon is going to fold next (if anyone knows alterative for hosting audio content behind a paid subscription service please let me know so I can start maybe making a back-up in case the worst happens). Because for me personally if Patreon goes next, it's not like I can go out and easily get another job. Not only because in general finding and getting a job is difficult enough, but I'm autistic and have chronic pain and have been constantly getting sick or new pains over the last few years and don't feel safe being trans in the UK right now and all of that combined rules me out of a lot of jobs and makes me feel unsafe to apply to any. I'm so grateful I've been able to make a community around my work, but if Patreon caves next and I just leave my SFW posts on Patreon... 10% of my Patreons are signed up to the SFW tier, 90% are signed up to the explicit tier... I know if Patreon caves I will go from someone living comfortably who's searching to move out of my parents so I can live in a safer environment to someone who can no longer even afford the rent I pay to my parents. I'll try and get an alterative found and set up in case that happens and I can only hope you guys will follow me to whatever other site I have to set up... but it feels unlikely that people will get a whole new account on a whole new payment provider just to support me on a website they might never have heard of...

But what can we do right now?

A petition you can sign (international but you do have to give your name, email, and postal/zip code):

Get calling:

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372

MasterCard (UK): 0800 964 767

Mastercard (International.): +1-636-722-7111

Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911 / 1-800-VISA-911

Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440

Visa (UK) : 0800 891 725 or use their international call collect +1 303 967 1096

Visa (International): (call collect - it costs them $): +1-303-967-1096

PayPal (US): 1-888-221-1161

PayPal (UK): 0800 358 7911 from landline, +44 203 901 7000 mobile

PayPal (International): 1-402-935-2050

(numbers gathered from these posts X X X )

Don't know what to say on the phone? Here's a script written by timidtanuki:

Creators have had their work removed off Itch.io with no warning and since it's been removed for 'breaking the rules' (rules that were suddenly in place with no warning) they aren't entitled to get their payouts. Just like other sites such as Youtube and Twitch and Etsy, Itch.io hold onto money from their users in a wallet and then give them payouts. So there is money creators have made, are owed, that Itch.io is not giving to them.

People are recommending that if you still have works on Itch.io to turn down the revenue sharing to 0% so that Itch.io no longer takes a cut or your money if you no longer want to support Itchi.io finically but don't want to remove your works from their platform. X

Other Bluesky posts and calls to action I've seen:

radiantg.bsky.social is asking for anyone on Itch.io who got their game deindexed, removed , or payouts turned off to reach out to them (espeically if you make explicit and/or LGBT+ games) for a piece of journalism about what is happening.

sleepyhard.bsky.social is making a threat of all the games that Itch.io has censored/removed from their site search function. Obviously be aware this will include 18+ only games, games with sexual content and other dark or heavy themes.

thetransfemininereview.com wants you to reach out to them if you're a trans creator on Itch.io who is being affected by this so they can make an accurate report. they say 'authors' in their post and I'm unsure if they also want game devs to reach out.

dropdownbear.bsky.com wants you to reach out if you have purchased things on Itch.io that you can now no longer access because of this ban. they can include them in a report being filed with the Australian Consumer Commission as this may be a violation of Australian Consumer rights. If you are Australian you can no longer access things you purchased of Itch.io you can report directly with this guide.

It's a scary time for adult creators and sex workers. It's a scary time to be trans. Support creators. And if anyone knows of any alternate payment providers that allow explicit work, and/or alternate websites to Itch (and in case things get worse, also give me Patreon alternates please) where people can host, sell and/or offer paid subscriptions to writing, images, videos, audios, games and more please leave them in the replies. And please help share this post, the posts I'm linking too, and any other resources you can find.

Minors DNI. Ageless blogs DNI. I want resources and help but I don't reply to this post or follow this blog if you're under 18, this is an explicit blog and not for anyone under 18.

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gabrielle-writes · 16 days ago

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Thanks to all the people who messaged me itch.io's statement. Please read more about the development here:

https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content

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gabrielle-writes · 17 days ago

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Regarding Steam, Adult Content Bans, and Making an 18+ Game

Hey guys;

There’s been a major shift in the gaming scene recently that could have some very serious consequences for queer creators and the adult content they make and unfortunately, TCM is (what I fear) a pretty prime target. I know no one likes reading long blog posts but please at least skim the following write up. A lot's going on and frankly, I'm very, very anxious for TCM. Bear with me, the situation is complex.

What Happened:

Steam, the largest videogame marketplace in the world, caved to pressure from payment processors like Mastercard and Visa to delist games and effectively censor content that goes against the TOS of the payment processor. This is incredibly shitty.

Visa and Mastercard now have direct say in what content is “objectionable” on the world’s largest gaming marketplace. They are the entities that get to decide what art is “degenerate” and what art is suitable for their advertisers.

Adult content has long been a target of Mastercard, which has been constantly putting pressure on companies like Etsy, OnlyFans, Patreon, Pornhub, Fansly, and more for multiple years now to deplatform and censor not only real-life content featuring real people, but also overtly fictional and drawn content as well.

LGBT+ art is a prime target for being slandered as deviant; we’ve seen it throughout our history, and this is only becoming more evident as queer sex workers, content creators, and artists are getting financially deplatformed all across the internet.

Several ultraconservative groups are behind the pressure on Mastercard, including swerf and terf clubs.

This goes beyond region or payment method. It doesn’t matter how you pay for Steam games; once a game is delisted, it cannot be purchased via any method.

Since this change to Steam’s TOS and as of this writing, over 80 adult games have been delisted, and I’d like to take a second to emphasize what this means. Being delisted on Steam is the same as having a game functionally permabanned. Delisting means that anyone who has the game can still access it, but the title is taken off the marketplace completely, and new players will never see it or be able to access it.

Steam is effectively being held at gunpoint. Without the ability to accept payments from the two largest, most duopolistic processors in the world, its continued resistance would likely destroy them as a marketplace. This attack on Steam gives Mastercard and Visa an unprecedented amount of power over gaming as a whole and has already had huge consequences. This sets a disturbing and wholly unfair precedent of disproportionately silencing queer and/or politically charged art.

What’s shocking about this is that in the past, Steam has worked to maintain a high level of neutrality in its content offerings. As long as games were rated properly and appropriate themes were disclosed during the rating process, Steam generally let explicit content slide even if their content was questionable to some. The problem now lies in the fact that corporate overlords have now taken the power to decide what is and is not artistic expression, and historically, that does not bode well for anyone challenging or commenting on the status quo. If you’re queer like me, you know you challenge the status quo by simply existing.

The Future is Unknowable

Unfortunately, it just got a lot murkier for me and for TCM. Because TCM’s queer leanings, its focus on sexualized men and monster fucking, the game will certainly be seen as transgressive to any remotely conservative leaning weirdo looking for a power trip. I don’t know if we’re on the chopping block and there’s literally no way to prepare.

I’ve heard several people mention Itch.io as an alternative, and, firstly, please understand that I adore Itch. Itch is where TCM got its initial start and early community from, and I owe a lot to Itch’s commitment to its devs and the freedom to produce whatever content they want. The problem is that if payment processors put pressure on Itch, too, they will be forced to acquiesce. I can’t stress enough that Steam is astronomically larger and more powerful than Itch- and if they didn’t have the resources or independence to hold to their ideals in the face of pressure from Mastercard, Itch won’t either. At this point, it's less of a criticism or doomerism on my part and simply an ugly, unfair fact.

This kind of uncertainty alone is enough to stagnate a lot of business in any industry. This puts the burden on me to either pre-emptively censor the game myself or to cope with the immense financial instability of going forward with unclear and/or unfair guidelines that- once again- disproportionately target queer creators.

We saw it with the widespread tariff confusion earlier this year that had a pronounced effect on global commerce. Stephanie Sterling elaborates on the burden of uncertainty in this video about YouTube’s unclear and inconsistent demonetization rules and the clamps it puts on artistic content. She’s a lot more articulate than I am and paints a really robust picture about why having vague content policies- like the ones Mastercard is pushing- throws a wrench in the whole creative cycle, especially for artists hoping to make a living via their art.

What This Means for TCM

Honestly, this could mean a lot of things, and unfortunately, I just don’t know what the road ahead will look like in 6 months. Or even next week. Because I really value transparency, I wanted to lay the situation out for y'all so you can hopefully see where I’m coming from and why this is so incredibly devastating to hear about.

I invested a ton of money into making this game. More than that, it's been about five years of my life with no other projects on deck, building this game and community from the ground up. I believe in this project, and I believe in queer adult entertainment that’s inclusive and fun and sexy. I really do.

But if I get financially deplatformed, I can’t create.

Essentially, I planned to invest my own money up front, offer the base game (Amir, Mori, and Akello’s full routes) for free, and then make DLC in the form of additional character routes and charge money for those to recoup costs and eventually get me out of the hole. I hoped that people would really enjoy the base game, get a feel for my writing style and Atlas’ art, and hopefully find that a paid DLC for another character is a worthwhile purchase. Now, I’m reevaluating how I want to move forward, and I wanted y'all to be a part of that 1) because I need you to see what factors I’m dealing with and 2) I’d like to give as much of a heads up as possible if plans change.

So, right now, the game is in a state called “Early Access”. This tells players that the game is still in development, still getting updates, and generally taking player feedback/bug reports into account as development furthers. Once the game is “completed,” I was going to take it out of Early Access and into “Fully Released”.

One option I’m now considering is charging for the game once it hits that fully released state.

People who already have the game will not be affected by this at all. You’ll get the Full Release without having to pay. (Anyone who has the game in their Steam Library before the changeover will get the Full Release for free.). The Full Release won’t have significant content changes but will probably have minor bug fixes, polish, things of that nature. I’m not sure what price point I would set it at. But like most options, there are pros and cons to this- namely, I made it clear that I wanted to keep this chunk of the game free, but I’m worried that might not be possible. The benefit to structuring things this way is that I may be able to recoup some of the development costs before a potential delisting, which would essentially terminate my ability to make extra content like I’d intended.

Talking Numbers

I would like to share my budget with you so that you can see the figures I’m looking at. Again, my ultimate goal here is gaining yall’s understanding first. I know it’s disappointing to talk money and numbers when we’re all surviving out there, but things are getting dire. (Note that these numbers are general but close estimates.)

Artwork includes: Sprites, CGs, Logo Design, Menu, GUI/UX assets and implementation, other In-Game Assets, Commissions for birthday posts/special occasions, Trailers, Animations, Capsule Artwork, etc

Ads, Hosting, and Business Misc includes: Ad runs on websites like Furaffinity and Tumblr, Hosting and Domain fees, Business Name Registration, Studio Peaches logo

Custom Music includes: 6 custom-performed and recorded tracks exclusive for TCM

Equipment/Tools includes: Software licenses, computer hardware, graphic design tools.

The game does pull in some money on the regular, and I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for my patrons, kickstarter supporters, and for my itch donors because your generosity and loyalty have helped add some stability to this situation, and I’ve gotten good at making your every dime count.

And just for transparency, here’s what the Kickstarter ended up looking like:

Now, with Kickstarter, I have to emphasize that these numbers don’t represent failure- this was pretty much what I expected going in. Kickstarter is a great way to raise awareness of projects, and in that respect, the TCM Kickstarter was very successful, even if I cut it perhaps a little closer than I had intended.

So, now you can kind of start to see where the stress is growing. Over the past five-ish years, I’ve invested close to twenty thousand dollars into this project, and although I have wonderful patrons, backers and itch donors, I’ve barely put a dent in that debt. This is what game development costs for a game of TCM’s quality. Currently, I pay Atlas commission rates for their work, but I had hoped to be able to actually employ them. I personally have never been paid for the time and labor I’ve put into this game, and I work on it about 30 hours a week, every week.

TLDR

To recap, there are several reasons I’m taking the time to write this up today:

Prepare TCM community for the possibility of changes coming to the plans going forward

Inform the community of some very alarming developments happening on gaming platforms

Help show the community just how much game development costs, and how imperative it is to find a financially viable future for this project.

Prayer circle we don’t get delisted

The bottom line is: TCM needs to make money if it is going to continue being developed. If the game gets delisted and deplatformed, I might need to make serious changes to keep this project alive. I may need to make serious changes to mitigate what’s already happening to adult games.

Things are scary out there for artists and especially for queer artists. I have absolutely no idea what the future holds for TCM and no idea how much worse things are going to get before they get better. Transparency has always been a priority for me, so definitely expect updates and announcements as things evolve and change over the coming months. Just please understand that I may have to pivot or change tact depending on what Mastercard decides is a violation of their content guidelines.

For better and for worse, nothing is set in stone today, but that does mean I’ll need to continue monitoring the situation closely, and I’ll do my best to keep everyone informed of TCM’s development with as much notice as I can.

Finally, I encourage all of you to do further research into this on your own. I encourage you to sign the petition that the ACLU has been circulating as a first step towards fighting this unfair hold payment processors have on our content. I encourage you to talk to performers excommunicated from OnlyFans and Patreon for having “objectionable” material. I encourage you to talk to Furries who were booted from Fansly for being incorrectly labelled as deviants with bestiality kinks. I especially encourage you to look into the oppressive, hateful groups pushing for this kind of artistic suppression and pressuring Visa and Mastercard to tighten (comprised largely of swerf, terf, and bog-standard conservative purity politics). Send angry emails, support your favorite creators, and cultivate safe online spaces for queer adult content.

As always, please hit me up with any questions you might have- I can be reached in all the usual places: Here on Tumblr @tricitymonsters, on discord @pockatuck or via the TCM server, or even email if you have something longer to send > [email protected]

Some source links for you:

ACLU Petition: https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy PCgamer Article Breaking the Story: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/steam-introduces-new-rule-prohibiting-certain-kinds-of-adult-content-that-might-make-visa-or-mastercard-unhappy-financial-deplatforming-in-action/

VICE Article that was pulled that lists the groups behind the push: https://web.archive.org/web/20250719204151/https://www.vice.com/en/article/group-behind-steam-censorship-policies-have-powerful-allies-and-targeted-popular-games-with-outlandish-claims/

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gabrielle-writes · 18 days ago

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Our game got stolen. Help. T_T

Yesterday someone reuploaded our game without our permission and is distributing it for free on itchio. I would not be surprised if they have some malware attached to the download.

They completely copied our info and links to social media, and our game is not the only one they did this to!

Here is the page of the thief of our game: LINK and the other one: LINK

Please report them if you have time and spread the word to help us take that scammer down as soon as possible. There is no telling what their goal is, but it can’t be anything good. The report button is on the bottom of the page of the project.

Here are the original pages of the two stolen games:

The Remainder

Afterward: A gay series

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gabrielle-writes · 21 days ago

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Maybe it's because I don't self insert when I play IFs, but I feel like it's weird in concept for everyone to expect the NM to be incredibly hostile about their LI finding someone else attractive. Like we're playing an immortal entity.

If the LI I romance finds another LI attractive I always think it's fun. It makes the characters feel more like real people and leas like objects that exist for the sole purpose of wish fulfillment fantasy.

Also I'm just a sucker for true emotional intimacy and deep unspeakable feelings over physical attraction so maybe that's why I'm not bent about it.

EMOTIONAL INTIMACY!

I had to shout it because I am going to use it now. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Physical attraction is great. It makes things sexy. But it fades. It is a dopamine rush that does not last. Someone commenting on someone else being pretty or hot, is not the same as them going and f*cking that person. It does not take away from any of the conversations, the deep connections, or the experiences that the couple has gone through. If it does, then there should maybe be some self examination on low self esteem going on.

Example: My husband teases me constantly about my celebrity crushes on TV. I tell him he has a work husband all the time because he is constantly texting a friend. There are female friends that he has that I find to be gorgeous and I have a lot of male friends who I hang out with outside of him. And yet, I am not threatened. He is not threatened. Know why? Because none of those people are ever going to replace the deep relationship we formed on those long sleepless nights when our kids were young. Those other people didn't sit with us when parents and grandparents died. My male friends were not the one that got in the car with me and chased a storm to the coast at two a.m. Nor are his female friends the ones that come and lay on him at the end of the day and demand loves. Nuances to relationships is what forms a relationship. Not commenting on how sexy someone is.

Now, that's just me. I know not everyone works that way. But I really hope for the people who get jealous, that you come out on the other side in real life. Because life is much more fulfilling in a well rounded relationship vs. one where you are always concerned about what your partners intentions are.

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gabrielle-writes · 23 days ago

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ok time to pirate ubisoft games even harder

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gabrielle-writes · 29 days ago

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gabrielle-writes · 29 days ago

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Some of my favourite shorter ChoiceScript titles

all of these are interactive novellas or novels, lengthwise - none are actually "short" as in flash fiction or short stories, and there's plenty of time to settle into the stories. But I find them good examples of games that do a lot with the words they use.

A big old list below! They're all below 200,000 words, and most are 150,000 or below. (It's very weird that that's become seen as "shorter"; when I was coming up, it was an average kind of size.)

Choice of the Deathless by Max Gladstone (Choice of Games) - you're a lawyer for the undead and maybe you're becoming a bit undead yourself. Part of the Craft Sequence/Craft Wars setting

Cannonfire Concerto by Caleb Wilson (Choice of Games) - tour the continent in an effort to become a legendary magical musician, amid rumblings of war

Choice of Broadsides by Adam Strong-Morse, Heather Albano, and Dan Fabulich - play this Napoleonic seafaring game in a patriarchy or matriarchy, and make your fortune (or be killed trying)

Deathless: The City's Thirst by Max Gladstone (Choice of Games) - you won the God Wars, killing the rain god and taking over his desert city. But now the city needs water and you're the one to get it. Part of the Craft Sequence/Craft Wars setting

Haunted Heart's Hotel by Elle Grace (Heart's Choice, female MC) - you've inherited a ghostly hotel and must renovate it while juggling your romantic life and pressures on your time from guests, TV crews, and investors

Hollywood Visionary by Aaron A. Reed (Choice of Games) - manage production of a Hollywood blockbuster (or flop, or cult hit, or a serious art piece…) in the 1950s

Love Undying: A Kiss Before Dawn by Lauren O'Donoghue (Heart's Choice) - as a Victorian vampire, you've settled into a Cornish village and deal with suspicious villagers, murders, rival vampires, and hunters while finding connection and love

Pendragon Rising by Ian Thomas (Choice of Games) - seize the throne as an Arthurian royal in a patriarchy or matriarchy, leading an army of Britons

Rent-A-Vice by Natalia Theodoridou (Choice of Games) - what doesn't kill you kills someone else, as you can rent virtual experiences of other people. Noirish, cyberpunk dystopia with a ton of atmosphere

Thieves' Gambit: The Curse of the Black Cat by Dana Duffield (Choice of Games) - you're the second-greatest jewel thief in the world, but if you enact this daring heist you'll take your rightful crown at the top

Turncoat Chronicle by Hazel Gold (Hosted Games) - backstab your father the Usurper King and orchestrate intrigue in order to take control and end a dynastic feud

Weyrwood by Isabella Shaw (Choice of Games) - advance in Society and bargain with fae creatures in a Regency fantasy of manners, daring, and magic. Defy or ally with daemonic overlords in your hometown

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