Progress Report + Sneak Peaks + Some Rant
Hey everyone,
This post was actually meant to come out earlier, with sneak peeks and updates like usual—but recent news about Steam and Itch.io made me pause and rethink a few things regarding the game's release. I want to be open with you all and explain what's going on.
If you haven’t heard, both platforms are starting to clamp down on adult content due to pressure from payment processors. Here's a quick summary (copied from what I posted on Discord):
Itch.io has started shadow banning and de-indexing adult games. This means you can no longer find many adult titles through tag searches or browsing, only direct links will work. Sadly, that includes our game for now.
They also mentioned they’ll be removing games that conflict with payment processor guidelines, so unfortunately, access will be limited to direct links for the time being.
While we hope our game doesn’t violate any of those rules, it's hard to say what might get flagged next. Today it’s incest etc related content, tomorrow it could be all adult games. It feels like censorship with no clear boundary.
You can read more about it here: https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content
I honestly don’t enjoy bringing negative updates or complaints to you, my dear players and supporters, but this situation has really affected me.
After Itch shadowbanned the game, traction dropped to zero. And when I checked our Steam wishlist numbers, I was shocked to see we’re only at 35 wishlists. Other games in similar genres have thousands and more. I’ve been pouring so much time and effort into this project, pushing to finish it as soon as possible, but at the moment, it feels like I’m working in vain. I fear that when I finally release the game, it might barely reach anyone.
Part of this is on me: I didn’t do much marketing, focusing instead on development. But without Itch’s visibility, I’ve realized I need to take matters into my own hands and start promoting the game more seriously. So I’ve decided to begin marketing on platforms like Reddit, TikTok, Bluesky, and maybe even X (Twitter).
I’m not cancelling the game or anything, far from it. But I’ve decided to wait until our Steam wishlist count reaches at least a few hundred before submitting the game to Steam. I want the game to have a fair chance, and as a developer, I want to feel that my work is being seen and validated. I hope you understand and respect this decision.
Thank you so much for your support so far. It means the world to me.
Anyway, here’s small cute dialogue new sneak peeks, featuring the catboy outfit that patrons voted for in the poll! Hope you like it!
Comments (12)
steam sadly is out of my reach since germany hates fun and gooners even more. most adult content isnt available on steam. sometimes i get lucky and get develepors to sell me a steamkay but if thats not possible Itch is usally my only option. sadly itch has a simmular problem to tinder...its not aktually avare what it is a gooncave XD i sean loads of shopoption on patreon so selling an accesable version here might work ou too. i dont believe thers gonna be a big clapdown on your game since no females are involvedd and noone gives a fuck about dudes or horrible dicection of them by a sexcrased lunatic femboy. no worries XD
I am not going to lie, the more you wait for "traction" or wish-listings, the more the hype for this game will die out. I recommend that you either release the game here or on steam. Another good alternative is to do heavy marketing because the glimpses or teases here won't do much. Many people, myself included, are probably also hesitant to buy your membership options if you don't provide gameplay or interactive features for us. Regardless, I wish you the best of luck.
What ive heard is steam is gonna be censored for the same reasons. Also if you have already purchased a game/ have it in your library on itch you can still go the the games menu/ homepage
Yeah, true at least they haven’t taken it that far yet. For now, they seem to be targeting content involving underage characters or rape themes, which this game doesn’t include. So maybe we still have some time before things get worse.
Man, is there going to be a second demo update for backers? I'm getting impatient now.
Thanks for your patience and support <3 To be honest, I didn’t originally plan for the game to be played episodically, especially with how I structured the story events. That said, I completely understand your point, I’ll take some time to think it over before making any rushed decisions
We support you manned and we believe you can get this situation together. We're all supporting you right now. We all are praying for you. Just work your absolute hardest to promote this game and you will succeed. At least I hope so
Thank you so much <3 <3 <3
I found out the shit with itch and it saddens me cause I find allot of the best games fall under the NSFW tag been getting really into games ranging from yours Honey Kingdom, femboy room mate, hazzelnut Latte ot due to the sexual elements but because there's genuinely a good story there
Thanks <3, censorship sucks : /
Do you think having the demo available on steam would help? I still see it is uploaded, but there is no way for folks to download it right now.
Pardon, I didn't understand. The demo is available on Stream : /