Itch.io: Difference between revisions

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Itch.io is a website used to find and share video games made by independent developers online.
{{ProductCargo
|Company=
|ReleaseYear=2013
|InProduction=Yes
|ArticleType=Service
|Category=Digital storefront, Video games
|Logo=Itch.io.png
|Website=https://itch.io
|Description=Online digital distributor mainly for games.
}}
[[wikipedia:Itch.io|itch.io]] is a website used to find and share video games made by independent developers online.
 
==Consumer impact summary==
 
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User Freedom
* User Privacy
* Business Model
* Market Control}}
 
*Business model: System relies on "open revenue sharing" which sends to itch.io a percentage of the transaction chosen accordingly by the creator (default 10%).<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2013 |title=Introducing open revenue sharing |url=https://www.tumblr.com/itchio/112709605589/introducing-open-revenue-sharing |website=Tumblr}}</ref>
 
==Incidents==
 
===Oxenfree incident===
On September 9th, 2024, users who purchased Oxenfree on itch.io were warned that the game was going to be pulled from the platform on October 1st. Consumers would not be able to download the installers after this date, so they would lose access unless they had them backed up. Users speculated that [[Netflix]], the parent company of the development studio, had ordered the move; however, no response from Netflix or the developers was ever published. This is particularly notable because it violates itch.io's terms of service: "Users shall retain a license to this content even after the content is removed from the Service." <ref>{{Cite web |last=ShawnS |date=31 Jan 2025 |title=OXENFREE |url=https://delistedgames.com/oxenfree/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321070400/https://delistedgames.com/oxenfree/ |archive-date=21 Mar 2025 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=Delisted Games}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Colp |first=Tyler |date=9 Sep 2024 |title=Another reminder that your digital library isn't forever: Oxenfree will be completely removed from Itch.io next month |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523111125/https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/another-reminder-that-your-digital-library-isn-t-forever-oxenfree-will-be-completely-removed-from-itch-io-next-month/ |archive-date=23 May 2025 |access-date=27 Jun 2025 |website=PC Gamer}}</ref>
 
===De-indexing of adult games from campaign pressure===
 
:Main article: [[Valve allows ISPs and payment processors to censor content on Steam]]
 
On July 11, 2025, [[Collective Shout]] issued an open statement demanding credit card payments to immediately cease processing "payments on [[Steam]] and itch.io".<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Bita |first=Natasha |date=15 July 2025 |title=Child safety group finds 500 online 'games' role-playing rape and incest |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/education/child-safety-group-finds-500-online-games-roleplaying-rape-and-incest/news-story/b30c59f85ff22934844269cb3beff538 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/koDk8 |archive-date=18 July 2025 |access-date=18 July 2025 |work=The Australian}}</ref><ref name="RPSCS">{{Cite news |last=Evans-Thirlwell |first=Edwin |date=22 July 2025 |title=Anti-porn group who tried to ban GTA 5 claim credit for Steam's sex game crackdown |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/anti-porn-group-who-tried-to-ban-gta-5-claim-credit-for-steams-sex-game-crackdown |access-date=23 July 2025 |work=Rock Paper Shotgun}}</ref> A few days later, itch.io responded by delisting adult content in search results.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content|title=Update on NSFW content|website=Itch.io|date=2025-07-24}}</ref> They re-indexed free "adult NSFW content" later on July 31 with new "content warnings" for such games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itch.io/t/5149036/reindexing-adult-nsfw-content|title=Reindexing adult NSFW content|website=Itch.io|date=2025-07-31}}</ref>
 
==References==
{{reflist}}