SEX DOESN'T SELL
PC Gamer US Edition|July 2021
STEAM draws a line on steamy content in games
Rich Stanton
SEX DOESN'T SELL

The major digital storefronts have faced reckonings in recent years, and haven’t always come out of them smelling like roses. This is partly because they have kicked certain decisions into the long grass, but are now being forced to come down one way or another. The other side, sadly, comes down to political pressure to de-list games that certain regimes, in this case the Chinese communist party, don’t like.

Recent months have seen some of these issues come to a head when Valve, notoriously reluctant to intervene in the content available on Steam, refused to sell a game called Super Seducer 3. SS3 is a full-motion video offering that uses multiple-choice dialogue for the player to go through dates with women.

These are, in other words, rather shoddy FMV games about ‘pickup culture’ and are fronted by one La Ruina, who, representing the developer, posted various communications with Valve about why the game had been refused by Steam. Valve’s reason was, “Steam does not ship sexually explicit images of real people.” La Ruina contends that, with 61,000 Steam wishlists for the game, he is “ready to take a butcher knife to the game” and that it would be “easy enough” to edit it to be as “safe” as other FMV games on Steam, removing the explicit imagery in question. In response, the Valve representative reiterated the company’s decision to neither “sell the game or re-review it”.

BACK FROM THE GRAVE

Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av PC Gamer US Edition.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av PC Gamer US Edition.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA PC GAMER US EDITIONSe alt
Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
PC Gamer US Edition

Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.

Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
SCREENBOUND
PC Gamer US Edition

SCREENBOUND

How a 5D platformer went viral two months into development

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
OLED GAMING MONITORS
PC Gamer US Edition

OLED GAMING MONITORS

A fresh wave of OLED panels brings fresh options, greater resolutions and makes for even more impressive gaming monitors

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
CRYSIS 2
PC Gamer US Edition

CRYSIS 2

A cinematic FPS with tour de force visuals.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
PLOD OF WAR
PC Gamer US Edition

PLOD OF WAR

SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2 fails to find a new path for its hero

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
GALAXY QUEST
PC Gamer US Edition

GALAXY QUEST

HOMEWORLD 3 is a flashy, ambitious RTS, but some of the original magic is missing

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
FAR REACHING
PC Gamer US Edition

FAR REACHING

Twenty years ago, FAR CRY changed the landscape of PC gaming forever.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
THY KINGDOM COME
PC Gamer US Edition

THY KINGDOM COME

SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE is the culmination of decades of FromSoftware RPGs, and a gargantuan finale for ELDEN RING

time-read
9 mins  |
September 2024
KILLING FLOOR 3
PC Gamer US Edition

KILLING FLOOR 3

Tripwire Interactive's creature feature is back

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
IMPERFECTLY BALANCED
PC Gamer US Edition

IMPERFECTLY BALANCED

Arrowhead says HELLDIVERS 2 balancing patches have 'gone too far'

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024