Damage Control
Hey Supporters,
The Situation
If you haven't heard, itch.io has decided to severe our business relationship. They sent me an extraordinarily vague message saying they are no longer willing to handle transactions on my behalf, and that I'll have to go through PayPal directly in order to sell my work on their site.
What that means is that I can no longer make money on itch.io. PayPal is notorious for shutting down adult content creator accounts, and itch.io knows this. The Direct Pay method they're forcing me to move to would be temporary, and cost me my PayPal business account. It's simply not a reasonable option. There is a witch hunt going on for adult content creators, and it looks like itch.io is likely doing this because they've been hit by the latest attack. I don't know that for sure though.
Half of my income disappeared overnight. I do not have a day job, so this business is all my income. I've directed people from itch.io to my Patreon, and I have seen a little uptick in my subscribers. Hopefully, over time, we'll see this equal out.
I don't create content to make money, I make money so I can create better content. I hired a coder, a marketing assistant, and I've shelled out money for some extra services trying to build a grander, more ambitious project titled The Judas Ghost. The money you've all given me I have invested back into my projects.
This was supposed to be the progress report where I was going to announce that I'm moving into my own place. The itch.io ban could not have come at a worse time. I'm doing some renovations for my new place, I'm getting things moved out of this new place so I can move into it, and I'm taking on the burden of new expenses.
I've been living my with parents the entire time I've been developing AVNs. That means I didn't have a mortgage, I didn't have utility expenses, and since I work from home I gave up my car and just use my parents whenever I need to go somewhere.
So, yeah, this is bad. I'm dipping into savings trying to stay afloat, but I will sink rather quickly if I don't figure something out.
The Plan
EDIT: I've discussed the possibility of getting A Moment of Bliss onto Steam with a friend. Unfortunately, since A Petal Among Thorns was banned, the risk of AMoB getting banned is high. It's not worth it to try to get AMoB on there because I'll just further soil my relationship with Steam. The smart play is to hold out, and get The Judas Ghost on Steam when I have enough content to put it into Early Access there.
I've also laid out the final scenes for The Judas Ghost. I'm going to try to have a release early in July. If it's a success, I should generate a good amount of new Patrons. This will also help me stay afloat.
Until then, I'm dipping into my savings. I'm going to continue production, I'm still going to move into my own place, and I'm still going to fight to stay in this market. But if itch.io dropped me, anyone can. I am not safe anywhere now. This is going to be a constant fight for survival.
I appreciate all of you. You're helping to keep me alive here, and that means everything to me. I love this work, I believe I'm contributing something positive to the world. I'll be here, standing firm, until I don't have anywhere left to stand.
Final Notes
I've been trapped in a daze since this happened. My head is spinning, it seems almost unreal. I'm trying to screw my head back on, and get back to work. Progress for last week was impacted by the itch.io debacle. Next Monday I'll have a report for you guys. I'm just trying to do damage control right now. Once my mind settles down, and the shock wears off, I'll be able to get back to work.
You guys make this career possible for me. I deeply appreciate that. I'm going to keep this train moving forward until the tracks run out. Thanks again for being so supportive.
Comments (40)
Do you have the script/story complete for AMoB? If so, rather than just dropping it, why not offer for sale the remaining story for sale on patreon (to a specific min membership level). I personally hate unfinished stories, so I would probably buy that just to get closure on the story (even without the artwork). Just a thought, but it might satisfy some people and get you a limited boost in contributions. You could also create a poll to test the market and see if my idea has merit, I'm sure it would take less time to complete the written story, than it would to also create all of the artwork and animations. You might even find that it is worth whatever time is needed to finish anything left of the story. You may also find that there are existing markets for your stories without the animations in a format that could be enjoyed on e-readers through https://www.smashwords.com/ Please let me know what you decide, and good luck.
Give me a month to try to survive this purge. If I make it to the other side alive, I'll be able to decide on a path forward. For now, I'm working exclusively on The Judas Ghost.
Sorry that Itch is Being an Asshat to you. But it is happening to Many people on Itch. Sadly i think that there are too many censor's as it is. But i'm an Old Man. sadly i think that many of the Older generation think that if they start censoring the Media/and other forms of speach that the Decline of the American Morals will reverse. Yea like you can put the Genie Back into the Bottle. I hope that they realize that the only way is to start Punishing those people that Misbehave. Sadly most are too softhearted, and thay cannot believe that there Darling Children need to be held accountable for there Actions, after all they raised them( the Children) right?
I, too, join the voices of support for you. You create great content and pursue your dream, even if the road to it is bumpy. Anyway, you have my support.
Thank you, LucvanMoer. Hopefully this censorship epidemic will let up soon. I appreciate your support.
Just unsubscribed from a few creators elsewhere, I'll up my level as much as I can for now. It sucks that itch done you dirty, but if you look at their trifecta of shitty pay processors, perhaps the writing was on the wall. Perhaps ESG played a role? We'll never know. Hope you're able to keep your chin up Lockheart!
Yeah, they could have at least allowed me the opportunity to tailor my content to whatever they require. Not even a warning, just a flat out ban. Done dirty indeed. Thanks for your support! I sincerely appreciate, especially right now.
Sorry to hear that, mate! I don't know anything about itch, so I was unaware how important it could be to devs. Monetization sucks, but everyone's gotta eat and escape the folks. I love your art and your stories scratch a particular itch, so here's hoping Steam works out for you!
Thank you, SomeoneElse. I'm going to keep working, and keep trying to get my work on as many platforms as I can. With support like yours, I'm confident I can find a way to stay alive in this market. I appreciate it!
That blows. Time for me to be a Hero. ;) Have you looked into subscribestar?
Thank you for the support, Kevin. Yes, I have a SubscribeStar. It doesn't have the same traction as Patreon, but it helps.
Keep your head up, Locky. Better days are ahead. Your supporters will see your hard work and dedication, and will stand by you when they have the opportunity to do so on Patreon.
Thank you, Marcos. I'm going to keep chugging along. I appreciate your support.
Is subscribe star an option?
Keep you'r chin up bud. if this is your dream job you have to keep at it. and we all love your work :)
Thank you, Angeal. I'm going to keep chugging along for as long as I possibly can. I'm confident we'll make it through this. Things always seem gloomiest right after the worst happens, but hopefully things start looking up. I appreciate your support.
Man, that's crazy lame. Not sure about Steam, I know Echoes of Lust successfully got on there and has similar 'themes' to your games. Perhaps some wording can be changed for the Steam version? Censoring sucks but, whatever works, right?
Echoes of Lust was banned on Steam. It was originally titled Lust Theory. They made some alterations to the game, changed the name, and resubmitted it. It's a dangerous move, and they got lucky that it worked. I have to consider the future, and I don't want to taint my name any further with Steam. I'm going to leave AMoB and APAT off Steam, and put all my eggs into The Judas Ghost basket. Censorship is bad for everyone. It has terrible consequences that people don't even realize because those consequences aren't something easily intuited. But studies have shown that since adult content hit the internet, there's been a reduction in divorce, sexual violence, and child molestation. When censorship happens, society suffers. Thanks for your support, lolhaha. I'll continue my efforts to get quality content into the hands of my fans and supporters.
So sorry to see you hare having such difficulties. Please know that this storm, like all storms, will pass. Keep a positive attitude and keep pushing forward.
Thank you, Marc. I'm working to clear my head right now, but I definitely have a plan to keep chugging along. I appreciate the support.
Just her to echo my support as others have done. They've been after SW creators for years now and maybe "they" are coming for AVN creators now. (by they, I mean the moneypeople) I think the lesson has to be the same, you can never rely on one platform alone, as they can get it in their head they want that big big AD money and have to "clean house" and rugpull you over night. I'm not saying this to mean you did anything wrong, but to state that Patreon isn't important for me here, your games made me feel things (esp. with the Penny backstory), I'll follow you anywhere.
Thank you, Troik. The future is uncertain for adult content creators right now as censorship seems to be growing more and more, but I'm going to hold on for as long as I can. itch was the site that nobody expected to drop adult content creators, so this was a shocking blow. The worst part is that no matter what I do in the future, it looks like itch will never be willing to work with me again. They burned the bridge. My saving grace will be getting The Judas Ghost on Steam. Right now, that's the goal post. I've got some money in savings, and with support like yours we should be able to get there. I appreciate your support in this difficult time, Troik.
Any chance you can get on SubscribeStar? They seem to be better about not up and dropping people so far. Keep Patreon as long as possible obviously, and SS takes longer to build followers so the sooner you can get it going the better, but from what I've seen it's one of the more stable platforms.
Yep, I have a SubscribeStar page up and running as well as Patreon. It doesn't generate the same level of support, but it's a good secondary donation site. Thanks for the support, vladeemer.
I have seen notices from several AVN developers in the past two weeks that itch.io is dropping them. I have been following you for a while. I became a patron today. Best wishes for your success.
Thank you for the support! I'll be slowly making some changes so my company can stay afloat, but it'll be gradual. Let's just hope Patreon doesn't drop me, because this is really the last platform I have to stand on right now. TJG should be more widely accepted and it'll be what keeps me alive. I appreciate your patronage.
Yeah a couple of other devs I've been following had the same thing happen. I think steam will probably screw you over again but hoping not.
Steam will not like AMoB, so I likely won't be able to get that on there. But The Judas Ghost is specifically designed for Steam. If that gets rejected, then I'm in trouble. Lets just cross our fingers and see what happens. Thanks for the support.
Itch.io having issues with an adult game, sounds strange to me. Take care and I'll up my patreon and feature you on my patreon , substar accounts. Last thought, maybe open a buy me coffee account also. It's easy for quick payments.
itch.io was the one platform I thought I'd always be safe on. I was so wrong. I have a plan moving forward, but it all depends on Patreon not pulling the rug out from under me. Thanks for all the support, DeadMan. You guys are my saviors.
Sending you strength Locky!! I'll up my Patreon for a few months.
I appreciate it. Thank you, Jeff!
I will continue to support you via patreon because i think your a very good creator ! Hope things get better. Damn those narrow minded compagny :(
I certainly never expected itch.io to abandon me. If they can do this, anyone can. I have to start managing risk better. Thanks for the support, Eric. It goes a long way.
This is very bad. I just discovered yesterday that another creator was banned from direct Paypal payments. I wonder how much Itch.io gets from the other several hundreds non adult games, possibly just a little percentage of their total incoming; if it is true, they are quite...stupid. Keep up, you'll find a way.
Yeah, I would have been willing to change to accommodate their new direction, but they had no interest in working with me. That's really sad because I was making them a lot of money. This is a strange direction for them, and I'm the collateral damage. But I'm doing some risk management, and I have a plan forward. With the support of my Patrons, I might just survive this. Thanks for your patronage!
I'll be rooting for you. You can do this.
I've got a plan moving forward, so we just have to hope I can survive long enough to get The Judas Ghost out. I should be fine, this is just scary. Thanks for all your support, now more than ever!
Fuck. Take some time off to figure things out, if you need it
I've been talking with some people, and we've devised a plan. Everything should be fine, but a lot depends on Patreon not abandoning me. As long as this bridge holds, I should be alright. Thanks for your support, Chrisbrei.