Developers who are working on NSFW games may run into some issues as a recent Steam update has made it impossible for them to be added to the platform in an early access state.
Back in 2013, Steam was the first to introduce a programme which would allow developers to upload their games to the PC storefront in “early access”.
This would mean that unfinished games could now be accessible to players in order for the user to get a feel of the game and purchase it at a much lower price as well as allow the developers to get feedback as they continued with development.
Now in 2025, it is standard practice for many video games to be released in early access around a year before their full versions launch, or sometimes even more depending on the game.
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However, it seems as though a quiet Steam update has made this impossible for some developers as reported by Dammitbird.
According to the developer who is currently working on a NSFW game titled Heavy Hearts, they are unable to upload the game to Steam in early access due to its “mature themes”.
Dammitbird submitted their game but was soon met with a reply from Steam which reads as follows: “Your app has failed our review because we’re unable to support the Early Access model of development for a game with mature themes.
Please resubmit when your app is ready to launch without Early Access.”
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However, the news was a massive blow to Dammitbird who spoke to Gamesmarket on how difficult it is to list NSFW games and gain visibility.
“It’s hard to promote your game on platforms like X because they deboost any mention of Patreon or other socials,” the developer explained.
“Since Patreon used to be the king of de-listing kinky adult games, I never put much stock in it. Now it’s basically all I have, and I still have the risk of getting deplatformed from it.”
At the time of writing, it is unclear why Steam has adopted this new policy as games with mature and NSFW themes are allowed on the platform.
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Some users believe that it is in relation to a group known as Collective Shout who have previously campaigned for NSFW to be deplatformed and delisted on certain sites.
Additionally, this update could be a direct result of the U.K. 's Online Safety Act which went into effect back in March and made it so that mandatory age checks had to be carried out on sites which featured adult content.
Whatever the reason, it is a frustrating update for certain developers and hopefully the decision will be explained by Valve in the future.