On July 24, users of indie distribution platform itch.io noticed a massive purge of adult content. Thousands of adult games were removed from the store — reportedly more than 20,000 titles — and many remaining games no longer appear in search results or recommendations. They are now only accessible via direct links.

The affected content includes not just games but also books and tabletop materials. According to users, many developers received no prior warning. Instead, they were notified through a message stating that their products had been taken down. The same notification indicated that accounts violating the platform’s rules would not receive payouts.

Itch.io bans adult content featuring real people or AI-generated imagery based on real individuals, as well as any material promoting sexual violence or involving minors. However, developers claim that even games that complied with these rules were removed.

The message also noted that payouts require compliance with payment processor policies — suggesting these changes were driven by financial service requirements, similar to recent incidents on Steam.

At the time of writing, itch.io has not issued an official statement on the situation. The platform’s forums and Discord server have been flooded with complaints from both users and creators.