(A)
After games distribution platforms itch.io and Steam began deindexing and removing adult NSFW games from their storefronts, following pressure from external payment processors, it appears that smaller game marketplaces are receiving the same warnings.
DRM-free games storefront ZOOM Platform, which specialises in older PC games, released a statement titled “Preserving and Protecting Artistic Freedom” on 2 August 2025, claiming that one of their payment processors reached out to notify the site of concerns similar to those affecting itch.io and Steam:
“One of our payment processors made us aware that a ‘fellow member of the industry’ was concerned about our content. After we heard from the payment processor, we immediately engaged in lengthy discussions with both PayPal and Stripe.”
ZOOM Platform went on to say that they began working with these processors to “develop a tripartite solution” to their concerns. This solution includes the implementation of opt-in Two-Factor Authentication for customers, alternate payment processors and options, and a “wallet system” that allows users to add funds directly to their ZOOM Platform account and spend on the site’s products.
ZOOM Platform said this solution was developed to “ensure the right to free speech and freedom of expression as well as protect the safety of our valued customers and partners,” and later in the statement maintained that they “have no plans to remove any titles, and will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent such de-listings. We are fervent supporters of artistic freedom and always will be.”
A few days after ZOOM Platform posted its statement, a representative told GamingOnLinux that they expected delistings to grow, and that, in discussions at ZOOM Platform, titles like “Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, and Saints Row were described as potentially at risk.”
ZOOM Platform does not currently offer GTA or Saints Row games, though it does appear to be the only online marketplace that offers Duke Nukem 1, Duke Nukem 2, Duke Nukem 3D, and Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project – all four games make up the platform’s best-sellers.
[Update, 6 August 2025: A spokesperson for ZOOM Platform provided the following clarification to This Week in Videogames:
“In the course of our discussions with the payment processors, going over the content contained within games on our store, including the Duke Nukem franchise, we were made aware of loosely defined language, rules from credit card companies, that could include Duke Nukem’s portrayal of women.”
“When we pressed for more details, given that such language cast a wide net, we were told that Grand Theft Auto, and similar titles such as Saints Row, could very well fit this description.”
Regarding its initial published statement, ZOOM Platform said that “with the advent of the UK’s Online Safety Act, the potentiality for censorship is vastly increasing. We simply wanted to share this information, so that the public would be informed.”
ZOOM Platform’s statements come after game devs began expressing concerns about where NSFW censorship could lead. Peak developer Aggro Crab wrote on Twitter that:
“By focusing on the most inflammatory games available, Collective Shout is trying to gain support for a broad ban of content… If puritan groups are able to dictate what people worldwide are allowed to spend their money on, it threatens video games’ ability to operate as art in any way whatsoever”
Obsidian senior technical artist Weston Mitchell also took to Twitter to claim that “It might be porn games now, but they won’t stop there. As long as your product is not illegal, they shouldn’t be allowed to decide what you can and can’t buy.”
After games distribution platforms itch.io and Steam began deindexing and removing adult NSFW games from their storefronts, following pressure from external payment processors, it appears that smaller game marketplaces are receiving the same warnings.
DRM-free games storefront ZOOM Platform, which specialises in older PC games, released a statement titled “Preserving and Protecting Artistic Freedom” on 2 August 2025, claiming that one of their payment processors reached out to notify the site of concerns similar to those affecting itch.io and Steam:
“One of our payment processors made us aware that a ‘fellow member of the industry’ was concerned about our content. After we heard from the payment processor, we immediately engaged in lengthy discussions with both PayPal and Stripe.”
ZOOM Platform went on to say that they began working with these processors to “develop a tripartite solution” to their concerns. This solution includes the implementation of opt-in Two-Factor Authentication for customers, alternate payment processors and options, and a “wallet system” that allows users to add funds directly to their ZOOM Platform account and spend on the site’s products.
ZOOM Platform said this solution was developed to “ensure the right to free speech and freedom of expression as well as protect the safety of our valued customers and partners,” and later in the statement maintained that they “have no plans to remove any titles, and will do absolutely everything in our power to prevent such de-listings. We are fervent supporters of artistic freedom and always will be.”
A few days after ZOOM Platform posted its statement, a representative told GamingOnLinux that they expected delistings to grow, and that, in discussions at ZOOM Platform, titles like “Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, and Saints Row were described as potentially at risk.”
ZOOM Platform does not currently offer GTA or Saints Row games, though it does appear to be the only online marketplace that offers Duke Nukem 1, Duke Nukem 2, Duke Nukem 3D, and Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project – all four games make up the platform’s best-sellers.
[Update, 6 August 2025: A spokesperson for ZOOM Platform provided the following clarification to This Week in Videogames:
“In the course of our discussions with the payment processors, going over the content contained within games on our store, including the Duke Nukem franchise, we were made aware of loosely defined language, rules from credit card companies, that could include Duke Nukem’s portrayal of women.”
“When we pressed for more details, given that such language cast a wide net, we were told that Grand Theft Auto, and similar titles such as Saints Row, could very well fit this description.”
Regarding its initial published statement, ZOOM Platform said that “with the advent of the UK’s Online Safety Act, the potentiality for censorship is vastly increasing. We simply wanted to share this information, so that the public would be informed.”
ZOOM Platform’s statements come after game devs began expressing concerns about where NSFW censorship could lead. Peak developer Aggro Crab wrote on Twitter that:
“By focusing on the most inflammatory games available, Collective Shout is trying to gain support for a broad ban of content… If puritan groups are able to dictate what people worldwide are allowed to spend their money on, it threatens video games’ ability to operate as art in any way whatsoever”
Obsidian senior technical artist Weston Mitchell also took to Twitter to claim that “It might be porn games now, but they won’t stop there. As long as your product is not illegal, they shouldn’t be allowed to decide what you can and can’t buy.”
