itch.io mass deindexing of adult content
In the evening of 2025-07-23 pacific time, itch.io deindexed all adult content without notice, then posted an official announcement claiming it happened because of the Collective Shout campaign. This campaign had caused the removal of adult games from Steam just about a week prior.
Before this event happened, itch.io had built a reputation for being one of the coolest places online, because of its censorship-free and artist-first reputation. 1 In fact, in 2022 itch.io had posted this tweet in the wake of Game Jolt banning adult games: 2
⚠️ WARNING: ITCHIO IS NOT FOR PRUDES. IF YOU CLICK OUR LINK PLEASE BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE 😎 🍆 😱
Timeline
At 2025-07-23 23:19 UTC, Leaf posted just "🫡" with no accompanying message in the official Discord channel. 3
Around 2025-07-24 00:00 UTC, all games with the
NSFW tag on itch.io had been delisted.
3
4
At 2025-07-24 06:07:43 UTC, itch.io posted an official announcement claiming this happened because of Collective Shout's open letter and associated campaign to direct concerns about the nature of certain content found on Steam and itch.io. They claimed that it was not realistic to provide creators with advance notice and apologized for the abruptness of the changes. They did not confirm what kinds of content would be allowed or not, but said that they were conducting a review of all adult content. 5
At 2025-07-24 16:59:52 UTC, itch.io posted a clarification for a community note on Twitter that they claimed was spreading misinformation. They said that deindexed pages are still accessible in libraries and that pages have not been removed from collections or libraries as part of the broader review. For pages that received a content notice, downloadable files of those games are still available in libraries if you had previously purchased the game or received a key for the game and the creator has not removed the page themselves. 6
At 2025-07-25 03:13 UTC, Leaf posted a message in the direct action thread in the itch.io Discord server, saying "The open case we have with Stripe right now is probably most critical right now. They apparently are or will be making a determination on the eligibility of our entire platform soon. Do what you want with that information". 7
At 2025-07-26 11:22 UTC, user @papaira.bsky.social posted a tweet noting that the NSFW policy had been quietly updated on itch.io. I am unable to find an official announcement about the policy change. The new policy states that creators are responsible for ensuring their content meets the guidelines set forth by all payment processors your account uses, that violations of the policy will mean your account will become ineligible for payouts, and that the following content is now prohibited: 8
- Non-consensual content (real or implied)
- Underage or “barely legal” themes
- Incest or pseudo-incest content
- Bestiality or animal-related
- Rape, coercion, or force-related
- Sex trafficking implications
- Revenge porn / voyeur / hidden cam
- Fetish involving bodily waste or extreme harm (e.g., “scat,” “vomit”)
At 2025-07-27 22:08 UTC, Leaf posted an announcement about additional restrictions unrelated to the Collective Shout campaign placed on adult content due to the UK Online Safety Act. 9
At 2025-07-28 19:47 UTC, Leaf posted an
announcement in the #news channel in
the official itch.io discord server stating that an
addendum
FAQ had been added to their original blog post
about NSFW content. In it, they explain why their
response was greater than Steam's, that Stripe can
no longer be used for 18+ content, and clarified
again that no games were removed from people's
collections or libraries. 10
At 2025-07-31 22:20:59 UTC, an official itch.io announcement was made that re-indexing will happen today for adult NSFW games that don't allow payments. They also announced a new “content warnings” system that all adult NSFW games must complete to be indexed. There will be a time window to complete this requirement to avoid going in and out of indexing. They also shared that Stripe confirmed they will not be able to support adult content that is "designed for sexual gratification" due to banking partners, though they hope to support adult content in the future. So, itch.io announced the intention to look for alternative payment processors. 11