Developer Criticizes Steam Review Standards After All-Black Image Rejected
The incident adds to a growing body of developer complaints that Steam's content review guidelines are applied inconsistently, with no clear public criteria.
Reporting from 1 sources: Game Spark.
Indie developer Hyogo Onimushi, creator of 'Return to Shironagasu Island,' posted on June 17 that an all-black image submitted to Steam was rejected as 'too sexual.' Onimushi questioned the consistency of Steam's review process, citing past reversals for other games and broader concerns about censorship.
Hyogo Onimushi, the developer of the adventure game 'Return to Shironagasu Island,' posted on X on June 17 that Steam rejected an image that appeared completely black. Onimushi said the image was meant to replace a scene of a girl falling into a river and borrowing a shower, and that the content only showed the character thinking 'What should I do now?' but was flagged as 'too sexual.'
In replies, Onimushi referenced past cases where 'CHAOS;HEAD NOAH' and 'Aftermath Z: Red Pine Lake' were initially rejected before Steam overturned the decisions, questioning whether the review standards are consistent. Onimushi also cited 'Bunny Garden,' where developers said they could only feature big-breasted characters due to risk of bans, expressing concern that even underage characters might eventually be banned regardless of sensitivity.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.