After two weeks of chaos, confusion, and community backlash, Itch.io has started quietly restoring NSFW-tagged games – but only if they’re free. The indie platform made the move late this week, days after Steam and Itch.io delisted any LGBTQ+ and NSFW Content, updating its internal moderation tools to allow previously delisted content to return to public listings. Paid adult games, however, are still locked out. If you charge money for anything even remotely mature, your store page is still in limbo.
This partial reversal is clearly an attempt to calm things down without poking the “payment processor bear”. Stripe, Mastercard, and other financial gatekeepers have been leaning hard on platforms like Itch.io, Steam, and Gumroad to restrict adult content, especially when it’s linked to queer identity, kink, or sexuality outside their corporate comfort zone.
So yes, free NSFW games are back. But the developers behind them still can’t earn revenue, accept tips, or promote premium content. That’s not a win – it’s a temporary bandage over a bigger problem. And for the devs who’ve spent years building a living off mature or experimental games, it’s yet another reminder of how unstable indie storefronts can be.
This isn’t a solution. It’s survival mode.
What’s Back – and What’s Still Missing
The newly restored games aren’t just random NSFW clickbait. Some are award-winning visual novels, queer dating sims, or text-heavy narrative titles with a mature tone and a loyal audience. Their only offense was having certain keywords attached – words like “trans,” “kink,” or “18+.” Under the current workaround, developers can relist these games if they remove their price tags entirely.
That’s led to a wave of “paywall removals” where games are being posted for free, with donation links and external Patreon pages doing the heavy lifting. It’s messy, and it breaks the original storefront logic – but for many creators, it’s the only viable path right now.
Meanwhile, devs who rely on direct sales are stuck. Their pages are still flagged, their payment access suspended, and their libraries essentially invisible. The rules are unclear, the appeals are slow, and the moderation process is handled mostly in silence.
Payment Processors Still Hold the Real Power
None of this started with Itch.io. The problem sits higher up – at the payment layer. Companies like Stripe, PayPal, and Mastercard have vague, opaque policies around “brand safety,” and they don’t like to touch adult content unless it’s been sanitized to the point of uselessness.
That gives them outsized influence over what games can exist in a public marketplace. If a payment processor decides a game is “risky,” platforms often scramble to delist it, regardless of legality or artistic merit. They’re protecting themselves from chargebacks and policy violations – not advocating for developers.
This isn’t just affecting porn games, either. It’s spreading into anything tagged as LGBTQ+, psychological horror, or even body horror if the keywords trip a moderation flag. If your content doesn’t fit into a narrow definition of safe, good luck monetizing it.
Developers Are Finding Workarounds – but at a Cost
In the short term, creators are doing what they always do: adapting. Some are using third-party services to sell keys or bundle access. Others are setting up their own storefronts, building email lists, or pivoting to subscription models. But every workaround comes with friction, and every extra step costs time, money, and visibility.
Itch.io was supposed to be the platform that protected indie devs from this nonsense. It had a reputation for openness, flexibility, and creator-first policies. But when payment pressure hit, even Itch couldn’t hold the line. And that’s a scary sign for every artist who thought they had found a safe space to work in.
A Temporary Patch, Not a Real Fix
The return of free NSFW games isn’t nothing, but it’s not enough. The developers behind these titles still don’t have a reliable way to earn a living. The moderation system is still broken. And the industry still hasn’t figured out how to build a sustainable ecosystem for mature, challenging, or alternative content.
Until platforms start building independent payment structures – or until the financial layer stops treating adult creators like a liability – this cycle will repeat. Games get pulled. Creators scramble. The audience loses access. And the market suffers.
If Itch.io wants to stay relevant, it’ll need to go further than just flipping a few switches. It needs to stand up for the people who built it in the first place.
