International Game Developers Association "Seriously Alarmed" By Recent Delisting Of Games

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The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has released a statement condemning the recent crackdown on games featuring adult themes on PC storefronts, calling for "greater transparency and fairness" in the moderation of adult games. The statement comes after both Steam and Itch.io caved to pressure from payment processors--themselves targeted by anti-porn lobby group Collective Shout--and abruptly delisted or deindexed a number of games with adult themes.While IGDA stresses that it is not defending the circulation of harmful material--which many of the delisted games would certainly qualify as--it says that the current enforcement of these policies is vague and lacks transparency, leading to "delisting and deplatforming legal, consensual, and ethically developed games, especially from LGBTQ+ and marginalized creators.""Developers report games being delisted or hidden despite prior approval or longstanding presence on these platforms," the statement says. "The lack of transparency around enforcement criteria, sudden shifts in policy, and an absence of appeal pathways leave creators with no clear path to compliance or recourse."Continue Reading at GameSpot