On the Current Situation of Adult Games and Censorship
Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well.
I want to take a moment to talk about something that's becoming a serious concern for the future of adult-only media on the internet.
What's Happening
To put it simply: payment processors like Visa and Mastercard are pressuring game platforms to impose puritanical rules on adult content and erotic art, even when that content is fully legal. This ongoing push to sanitize the internet is affecting not just adult games, but almost all forms of media.
So far, pressure from credit card companies on game platforms has:
- Pushed Steam to introduce a rule that prohibits any content violating the policies of its payment processors, resulting in the removal of several games with controversial themes.
- Pushed itch.io to hide all games with adult themes from their platform’s search results and main pages.
What this means for Domitum Fortress
Currently, the most immediate impact is that Domitum Fortress is no longer easily discoverable on itch.io due to the deindexing of all games with adult themes. itch.io has stated that this is a temporary measure while they review which games comply with payment processor policies.
Thankfully, I haven’t seen any bans specifically targeting consensual BDSM games like Domitum Fortress. But the direction things are heading makes it hard to feel confident that other types of kinky content won’t be targeted next.
The Worst Case Scenario
If payment processors clamp down to the point where monetization of the game is no longer an option, I want to make one thing clear:
I will continue developing Domitum Fortress as long as I’m able and as long as it remains legal to do so. Of course without any hope of financial reward the time I can dedicate to it may be reduced but it would still live on as a hobby project. This game truly is a passion project for me. I really enjoy working on it and I deeply believe in its right to exist.
In Conclusion
Right now, there’s no reason to worry about the future of Domitum Fortress specifically. But this trend toward puritanical censorship is something I think we should all be paying attention to. It has broad implications for freedom of expression and the survival of adult and erotic art online.
I’ll be sharing some links and resources in the comments for those who want to learn more about the situation or who want to speak out and make their voices heard.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of this project,
Orane