Steam Review Delay Over Low-Poly Nudity Draws Developer's Monopoly Complaint
The developer's public complaint reframes a routine content review as a power imbalance, where a brief, non-sexual still image can stall a release indefinitely and shrink a game's market before it ships.
Reporting from 2 sources: GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
Molleindustria's open-world RPG 'Future? No Thanks!' faces another Steam release delay because Valve's review of brief low-polygon nude scenes has dragged on for over three weeks. Developer Paolo Pedercini criticized Steam's vague guidelines and called the platform a monopoly with almost no precedent, while noting the adult tag could block purchases in Germany and China.
The delay stems from a scene the developer describes as a few dozen polygons drawing buttocks and breasts without textures, shown as a still image for a few seconds. Pedercini argued the game clearly fits ESRB 17+ or PEGI 16+ ratings, yet Steam is treating it as pornographic. He added that releasing under the adult tag would block purchases in Germany and China. A free demo identical to the full product has been available for months, which Pedercini noted while questioning what specific corrections Steam wants. He is considering adjusting the content, but the review process remains unclear to him.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.