Hi everyone,

As you might’ve heard, Steam and Itch.io were forced to restrict their NSFW content policies by payment processors. Influenced by the lobbyist group Collective Shout, payment processors such as Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and PayPal are pushing for censorship, conservatism, and, for some bizarre reason, controlling people’s private purchases. Why they’re so invested in this, one can only imagine, given that CEOs and executives aren’t exactly known for being paragons of morality themselves.

I’ve had to change Ambition Plot and Ambition Plot 2 to “free” instead of “accepting donations,” so that the games can be listed on Itch.io again. Otherwise, they’ll be shadowbanned from the search page. I’m looking into this for my other games as well, since I’m fairly sure some are currently delisted.

Needless to say, I'm not happy about this. Though I share my games as “Pay What You Want” to be accessible to more people, I value my work and believe it has worth. This is why players have the option to support me by a tip or donation. Now, payment processors would rather I abandon my time, effort, and skill because they don’t like the content.

If this situation sounds ridiculous to you, I encourage you to contact the payment processors directly:

https://stop-paypros.neocities.org

https://yellat.money

These links will guide you to their contact information, including phone numbers, mailing addresses, and customer service centres. Tell Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, and PayPal what you think.

As for what this means for future projects…

My current game is a visual novel set in a prison. You play as a prison officer attracted to an inmate, in an environment where violence of all forms occurs. Sometimes you're the bystander and other times the perpetrator. It's a story about justice, morality, pity, and suffering—and how we think of those "beneath us."

I have no idea how I'm supposed to make this game wholesome, vanilla, and consensual without making it an entirely different game. So, under the NSFW policy, I won't be able to take payments, whether that's selling commercially or a $1 donation.

I still plan on continuing development, but I'll need to look into release options. Most likely, there will be a free demo on Itch.io, but where to host the full version isn't decided yet. A lot is up in the air right now, unfortunately. I can only hope that by then, the situation will improve.

In the meantime, don't forget to call the payment processors. As a sweetener, if you comment with your experience calling, I'll reply with new game WIP/concept art.