Our Itch statement
On July 24th, Itch released a statement regarding the recent removal of all NSFW games from their platform. If you aren’t familiar with the situation, you can read their full notice here.
We want to begin by stating that the blanket removal of all 18+ games, is, in our view, an overcorrection. This decision impacts both developers, who have spent years creating these projects, and players, who paid for them and should retain access to their purchases. We stand in solidarity with the creators affected by this sweeping action and with the communities that have been fractured as a result.
It’s important to note that this is a layered situation. We believe Itch was pressured by its payment processors, and forced to make an impossible choice: protect creative expression or preserve the infrastructure of their platform. (Steam recently experienced a similar situation on a smaller scale.) While it’s not quite clear what has happened behind the scenes, we know that gaming communities across the world are struggling due to this decision.
At this time, the 18+ DLCs for Our Life have not been affected, as they are hosted primarily through Patreon. Should that change, we will update our community immediately. We hope to see a more nuanced solution in the near future. In the meantime, we’ll be supporting creators wherever we can.
If you agree with our position, we encourage you to sign this petition by the ACLU, who is fighting to end payment processor discrimination against sex work as a whole.
