Adult visual novels to be censored further or removed from Steam, developers say (update)

Valve has recently issued warnings to visual novel developers concerning adult content in their games, according to multiple game studios who say they were affected.

The developers behind notoriously NSFW games Mutiny!! and HuniePop, which both contain extreme nudity, said on Twitter this week that their catalogues are being squeezed off of Steam, pending additional censorship.

“I’ve received an e-mail from Valve stating that HuniePop violates the rules & guidelines for pornographic content on Steam and will be removed from the store unless the game is updated to remove said content,” HuniePot, the studio that made the popular puzzle game-meets-sexy visual novel, tweeted.

HuniePop remains available for now, however. There’s no warning on its Steam store page that it’s under threat of removal, either. The same is true of Mutiny!!, although its developer wrote that it’s even more confused about Valve’s message.

“We’ve just received some troubling news today that @steam_games has decided to pull down our titled “Mutiny!!” [sic] within 2 weeks for ‘reports of pornographic content,’” Lupiesoft, the studio behind Mutiny!!, said on Twitter. Lupiesoft went on to explain in the thread that the studio has worked closely with Valve, according to tweets, and was told that softcore nudity was allowed on Steam.

“We messaged Valve, no response, and 2 weeks was the deadline they gave, basically by the end of the month,” Lupiesoft said in an e-mail to Polygon, clarifying that the game had to be changed within two weeks before it gets removed.

In addition, the Steam versions of these games are censored already, with fully uncensored versions able to be purchased from other retailers. HuniePop and Mutiny!! can both be patched to include the uncensored content, however, as can other explicit games. These patches are never allowed to be shared on Steam, though they are typically able to be found on developers’ websites or through a quick Google search.

Still, it remains a possibility that both games could soon be gone. We’ve reached to Valve for confirmation. If they are removed from the storefront, though, neither title will be removed from owners’ Steam libraries — so if you own HuniePop, don’t worry about it disappearing from your list of games.

Where Steam draws the line for sexual themes in games remains unknown, as recent titles like the comedic BDSM visual novel Ladykiller in a Bind never received any notice from Valve, according to that game’s lead producer, Christine Love. There has also been no statement about the plethora of mainstream games that include nudity, like The Witcher 3 or Grand Theft Auto 5.

Adult visual novels on Steam have always been an iffy subject, as the Steam platform is accessible to minors. Whether or not the games really belong on the platform has been an ongoing question, as people might not want others to see that they’ve been playing lightly pornographic games (even if they’re just playing for the plot, they swear).

Valve’s guidelines to join the Steamworks Partner Program note that pornography is not allowed, though it doesn’t say anything about nudity.

Adult-themed visual novels have been on Steam for a long time now, with HuniePop releasing in January 2015. Valve has yet to make a statement on why its policies have changed.

Update: We reached out to Lupiesoft about the studio’s situation with Valve and added a quote above.

Update (May 19): According to Lupiesoft and HunieDev’s Twitter, both studios have received word from Valve, apologizing for any confusion and taking back the threat of removal. However, the games are still under re-evaluation from Valve.