Technology

As is tradition.

I'm done living under their boot heel

Uh, I think it's called the World Wide Web.

I mean, I'm joking, but I do remember buying games directly from a developers website, that's a thing that used to happen.

This pressure is coming from the payment providers without whom no storefront can operate. We need alternatives to Visa and Mastercard.

We need a...decentralized alternative to steam.

Customer protections would suuuuuuuck if everyone was running different variations of, what is essentially, a store. Not to mention shovelware would be even more rampant.

In the Reddit thread about the rejected NSFW updates, Crimson Delight have only good things to say about Valve's handling of the situation. "I have to say the reviewer was kind and forthcoming, we didn't feel threatened or bullied in any way, and we got the feeling they were trying to do their best to help devs navigate the process," developer Frenzin writes. "But the fact of the matter is that Valve has payment processors breathing down their neck, and the rules keep getting stricter as time goes on."

"Valve isn't the problem here," Frenzin continues. "The big credit card companies are. If anything, Valve has stood up to them and pushed back. They could've simply nuked the 18+ section of Steam, but they didn't, they stuck up for developers. Obviously adult games make Valve money, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of Steam's catalogue. Silksong itself probably earned Valve more than most NSFW titles put together.

"Given that we're erogame devs, we're against any sort of censorship (as long as the content isn't sexualizing minors or nonconsensual in any way)," the developer comments. "But it's important to understand where the real problem lies, and it's not with Valve."