Ball Scratch Simulator takes gross-out gaming too far with 2026 Steam release

2026 is a massive one for video games, and while House House's Big Walk has quickly become a critical darling as the year's 'best' game so far on Metacritic, there's still plenty to come in the final few months. Sony has Marvel's Wolverine, Nintendo has its The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, Microsoft has Gears of War: E-Day, and we're ready for all of that to be steamrolled by the colossal release of GTA VI.

While we don't imagine the latest Steam release is giving any of the above a run for their money in the Game of the Year stakes, Ball Scratch Simulator could become just as infamous.

Ball Scratch Simulator leaves gamers 'scratching' their heads

If you can wade through all the 'friendslop' and Backrooms-inspired titles over on Steam, you might've come across Ball Scratch Simulator. Released by 10ft Games, the developer also has games that include Tollway Tycoon, where you race a cursed tollway, and Red Front, where you drive a Soviet tank through an over-the-top WWII campaign. Ball Scratch Simulator does exactly what it says on the tin, encouraging players to have a rummage down there by imagining they're men with an uncomfortable situation in the trouser department.

Described as the "world’s premier public ball-scratching panic experience," the goal is simply to scratch while no one is looking, stop when they turn around, and try to get the highest score possible.

This is basically a more adult version of Squid Game's Red Light, Green Light.

You're told to scratch your way through six uncomfortable locations, each with different witnesses, routines, and pressures.

If the characters having a large-breasted anime style, and the premise of the game in general weren't controversial enough, there's a massive generative AI disclaimer that reads: "The whole game is AI slop, the machines wanted to know what it felt like to scratch."

READ MORE: Zombie survival sim peaks on Steam 15 years after launch, and it's easy to see why everyone's talking about it

When does Ball Scratch Simulator release?

If you're 'itching' to play Ball Scratch Simulator, the good news is that you shouldn't have long to wait. The game's Steam page confirms a planned August 2026 release, meaning it could drop any day now.

Steam has clamped down on supposed 'gooner games' in recent months, although it looks like Ball Scratch Simulator doesn't quite meet that threshold.

When the game was shared on X, most were more confused about why it exists rather than whether they'd even play it.

While many questioned whether there was anything left that isn't a simulator game on Steam, one particularly disgruntled onlooker wrote: "How to push the kids to do just about anything @Steam shameful."

Another joked: "Just when we thought we'd seen it all on the Steam catalog, the video game industry reaches new heights of poetry with the testicular simulator 🧐."

Someone else concluded: "Why would a trucker clock out of work and go home to play truck simulator."

We'll have to see how well Ball Scratch Simulator does when it releases, but something tells us Stardew Valley isn't in danger of losing its honor of being Steam's highest-rated game of all time.

Even though there's been a boom in men trying to experience the pain of women's periods by attaching electrical muscle stimulation (TENS) devices to their abdomens, we don't imagine Menstrual Cramp Simulator is going to be popping up on Steam anytime soon.