Gamedev

itch.io is beginning to re-index NSFW material. In an update on itch today, site creator leafo says to be considered you have to turn on "no payments," meaning you can offer NSFW content freely, but you can not sell it on itch.io.

He also says he spoke with one of their payment processors, Stripe, who said they will not process "content designed for sexual gratification". He passed along a quote from Stripe:

Stripe is 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.

Leafo says itch is also in talks with other payment processors, hoping they will be able to process payments for that material. They're also working on a new content warning system. You can read a good story on everything thus far at GameIndustry.biz.

In other payment processor restriction news, GamingOnLinux points out MasterCard says "it wasn't me". To pull the quote that they did, in a statement MasterCard includes:

Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations.

Our payment network follows standards based on the rule of law. Put simply, we allow all lawful purchases on our network. At the same time, we require merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.

itch also added an update to their previous post about de-indexing NSFW games:

Addendum FAQ July 28th

It’s an understatement to say the original announcement received a lot of response. I’m adding a FAQ here to address some of the most common concerns I’ve seen.

Why was itch.io’s response greater than Steam’s?

The difference in our responses stems from the difference in our platforms. Steam is a “closed” platform where every product page is approved before it appears on the store. Because they were generally aware of the content they host, they could identify and act on specific pages.

itch.io is an open, “UGC” (User-Generated Content) platform. With over 2 million product pages, anyone can publish content at any time with minimal barriers. We could not rely on user-provided tagging to be accurate enough for a targeted approach, so a broader review was necessary to be thorough.

Additionally, itch.io is a small company, both in team size and in transaction volume, compared to a company like Steam. We have limited ability to “push back.”

If we lose our ability to accept payments from a partner like PayPal or Stripe, we impact the ability of all creators to do business. Losing PayPal, for instance, would prevent us from sending payouts to many people. Our actions were taken to protect our payment processing abilities for as much of the platform as possible.

What is the timeline for these changes?

The situation is evolving as we await final determinations from our current payment processors, Stripe and PayPal. There are still unknowns that prevent us from providing a fixed timeline.

In the meantime, we are actively reaching out to other payment processors that are more willing to work with this kind of content. We have suspended the ability to pay with Stripe for 18+ content for the foreseeable future. Our immediate focus has been on content classification reviews and implementing stricter age-gating on the site.

Can you elaborate on library access?

Pages that are “deindexed” are still accessible if you own them. They have not been removed from your library or collections.

Some pages have received a “content notice,” which applies to individual pages where our team has concluded we can no longer support their business. If you previously purchased or received a download key for one of these pages, the downloadable files are still available in your library, assuming the creator has not taken down the page or removed the files themselves.

We are aware of some people making claims that content has been removed from their library on social media. If you are one of those people we strongly urge you to reach out to support so we can understand what exactly you’re expecting to see as none of the changes we’ve made as part of this review should impact your access to paid products.

Regardless of what happens, I personally recommend you maintain control over the content you own. itch.io is a DRM-free platform from day 1 for this reason. Download and backup your games and don’t let any corporation dictate what you can own.

Can you elaborate on payouts?

Some have noted a rule in our adult content policy about not processing payouts for infringing accounts. This rule has been in place for a long time to address bad-actor situations where a user joins the site and blatantly violates our terms to make sales before being banned (There are content types we have ways had zero tolerance for, e.g., content with sexualized minors or sexualized real-life imagery). In those cases, we ban the user, refund payments, and do not honor payouts.

The current situation is a special circumstance. We have no interest in withholding anyone’s earnings. The measures we are taking now are to ensure we do not lose our relationships with our financial partners, which is necessary to continue paying creators without issue.

Can you elaborate on the new items in the adult content policy?

Our adult content policy is located here: https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq#is-adult-content-allowed

Our TOS and adult content policy have always included the rule: “If you plan to collect money for your content, then you must adhere to the acceptable use policy of all respective payment processors that your account utilizes.” This is vague. The other day, we added a specific list of prohibited themes present in card processing networks to help people understand the kinds of things we might be looking for in our review.

We understand the problems that come with a list like this, as it’s easy to argue the semantics. We decided it was better to give you more information to work with instead of less, even if many of the items on the list can be argued either way. We intend to refine this part of the site with more care, but since there are still unknowns, this is the information we can provide for now.

The article mentions Battlefield Portal, which is apparently a Godot tool to allow players to customize maps and gameplay in the upcoming game. So if you know Godot, you might have a leg up in modding the FPS.

Here's a direct link to itch's list of prohibited themes, as well as links to PayPal, Stripe, and Payoneer's guidelines: https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq#is-adult-content-allowed

In addition to their press release, they've included contact info for Visa and Mastercard, who are major payment processors. In this list I've also included contact sites for Paypal and Stripe, who are payment processors for itch.io

Visa

Email askvisa@visa.com

Call Visa at 1-800-847-2911

Website: visa.com/contact-us.html

Mastercard

Email customer_support@mastercard.com

Call Mastercard’s international number:1-800-999-0363 (US); 1-636-722-6176 (International)

Website: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/personal/get-support.html

Paypal

https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/contact-us

Stripe

https://support.stripe.com/questions/submit-a-complaint

Linked to the news story for those wanting a summation of events thus far. But also, site creator leaf posted this in an update directly on itch.io as well:

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

We have “deindexed” all adult NSFW content from our browse and search pages. We understand this action is sudden and disruptive, and we are truly sorry for the frustration and confusion caused by this change.

Recently, we came under scrutiny from our payment processors regarding the nature of some content hosted on itch.io. Due to a game titled No Mercy, which was temporarily available on itch.io before being banned back in April, the organization Collective Shout launched a campaign against Steam and itch.io, directing concerns to our payment processors about the nature of certain content found on both platforms.

Our ability to process payments is critical for every creator on our platform. To ensure that we can continue to operate and provide a marketplace for all developers, we must prioritize our relationship with our payment partners and take immediate steps towards compliance.

This is a time critical moment for itch.io. The situation developed rapidly, and we had to act urgently to protect the platform’s core payment infrastructure. Unfortunately, this meant it was not realistic to provide creators with advance notice before making this change. We know this is not ideal, and we apologize for the abruptness of this change.

We are currently conducting a comprehensive audit of content to ensure we can meet the requirements of our payment processors. Pages will remain deindexed as we complete our review. Once this review is complete, we will introduce new compliance measures. For NSFW pages, this will include a new step where creators must confirm that their content is allowable under the policies of the respective payment processors linked to their account.

Part of this review will see some pages being permanently removed from itch.io. Affected accounts will be notified via their account’s email address from our support address. You can reply to that email if you have any follow up questions.

We ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging period. I’m sorry we can not share more at this time as we are still getting a full understanding of the situation ourselves. We will post a follow up on our blog if the situation changes.

Thank you.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/30689105

Original link which seems to have been taken down: https://www.vice.com/en/article/group-behind-steam-censorship-policies-have-powerful-allies-and-targeted-popular-games-with-outlandish-claims/

Update from the author:

https://bsky.app/profile/acvalens.net/post/3lufjdqmhxs2v

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/45849841

Source.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32635925

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32718426

https://bsky.app/profile/jasonschreier.bsky.social/post/3ltkfdr437s2m

Jason Schreier: BREAKING: Krafton has delayed the highly anticipated game Subnautica 2 to 2026, potentially costing the development team a $250 million bonus.

The studio's leadership had wanted to release the game this year but were ousted by Krafton last week.

Krafton responds in a fullpage note on their homepage:

To Our 12 Million Fellow Subnauts, — Inevitable Leadership Change Driven by Project Abandonment–Despite Holding 90% of Earnout for Themselves

First and foremost, we sincerely thank you for your continued support, passion, and unwavering dedication to Subnautica. We wish to provide clarity on the recent leadership changes at Unknown Worlds, a creative studio under KRAFTON.

Background of Leadership Change

KRAFTON deeply values Subnautica’s unique creativity and immersive world-building. To provide fans with even better gaming experiences, we acquired Unknown Worlds, fully committed to supporting Subnautica’s future success. We collaborated closely with the studio’s leadership, who were central to the creation of the original Subnautica, to foster the optimal environment for a successful Subnautica 2.

Specifically, in addition to the initial $500 million purchase price, we allocated approximately 90% of the up to $250 million earn-out compensation to the three former executives, with the expectation that they would demonstrate leadership and active involvement in the development of Subnautica 2.

However, regrettably, the former leadership abandoned the responsibilities entrusted to them. Subnautica 2 was originally planned for an Early Access launch in early 2024, but the timeline has since been significantly delayed. KRAFTON made multiple requests to Charlie and Max to resume their roles as Game Director and Technical Director, respectively, but both declined to do so. In particular, following the failure of Moonbreaker, KRAFTON asked Charlie to devote himself to the development of Subnautica 2. However, instead of participating in the game development, he chose to focus on a personal film project.

KRAFTON believes that the absence of core leadership has resulted in repeated confusion in direction and significant delays in the overall project schedule. The current Early Access version also falls short in terms of content volume. We are deeply disappointed by the former leadership’s conduct, and above all, we feel a profound sense of betrayal by their failure to honor the trust placed in them by our fans.

KRAFTON’s Full Support for the Dedicated Development Team

To uphold our commitment to provide you with the best possible gaming experience, we made the difficult yet necessary decision to change the executive leadership. Subnautica 2 has been and continues to be actively developed by a dedicated core team who share genuine passion, accountability, and commitment to the game. We deeply respect their expertise and creativity and will continue to provide full and unwavering support, enabling them to focus solely on delivering the exceptional game you deserve.

KRAFTON’s Commitment to its Promises in Rewarding Employees

Additionally, KRAFTON has committed to fair and equitable compensation for all remaining Unknown Worlds employees who have continuously and tirelessly contributed to Subnautica 2’s development. We believe that the dedication and effort of this team are at the very heart of Subnautica’s ongoing evolution, and we reaffirm our commitment to provide the rewards they were promised.

Fans will always remain at the center of every decision we make at KRAFTON. Moving forward, we promise transparent communication and continued efforts to sustainably develop and expand the beloved Subnautica universe.

Honoring your trust and expectations is a core tenet at KRAFTON. We are committed to repaying your patience with an even more refined and exceptional gaming experience.