Itch.io: Difference between revisions
m Changed the consumer impact summary to more closely resemble that of the Steam page. Added the 'User freedom' section with information about DRM on itch.io. |
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* Market Control}}'''User freedom''' | * Market Control}}'''User freedom''' | ||
* Itch.io does not add [[Digital rights management|DRM]] to the games sold on its platform.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Creator FAQ |url=https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq |url-status=live |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |website=Itch.io |at=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 Mar 2018 |title=Are games from itch.io DRM free? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/850uea/are_games_from_itchio_drm_free/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> | *Itch.io does not add [[Digital rights management|DRM]] to the games sold on its platform.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Creator FAQ |url=https://itch.io/docs/creators/faq |url-status=live |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |website=Itch.io |at=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 Mar 2018 |title=Are games from itch.io DRM free? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/850uea/are_games_from_itchio_drm_free/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 Aug 2025 |website=Reddit}}</ref> | ||
'''Business model''' | '''Business model''' | ||
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===Oxenfree incident=== | ===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 | 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 and consumers would not be able to download the installers after this date. So they would lose access unless they had a backup of the game. Users speculated that [[Netflix]] (the parent company of the development studio) had ordered the move. However, no response from Netflix or the developers of the game 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=== | ===De-indexing of adult games from campaign pressure=== | ||
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:Main article: [[Valve allows ISPs and payment processors to censor content on Steam]] | :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> | On July 11, 2025, [[Collective Shout]] issued an open statement demanding credit card payments to immediately cease processing "payments on [[Steam]] and [https://itch.io/ itch.io]". The reasoning for statement by [[Collective Shout]] was because of a game on [[itch.io]] called "''No Mercy''", which featured some hardcore NSFW content. <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> On July 31 itch.io re-indexed all free NSFW games but with a new "content warning" tag for games with NSFW in them.<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== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
Revision as of 06:35, 4 January 2026
❗Article Status Notice: This Article is a stub
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Itch.io
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2013 |
| Product Type | Digital storefront, Video games |
| In Production | Yes |
| Official Website | https://itch.io |
itch.io is a website used to find and share video games made by independent developers online.
Consumer impact summary
User freedom
Business model
- Itch.io relies on "open revenue sharing" which sends to itch.io a percentage of the transaction chosen accordingly by the creator (default 10%).[3][1]
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 and consumers would not be able to download the installers after this date. So they would lose access unless they had a backup of the game. Users speculated that Netflix (the parent company of the development studio) had ordered the move. However, no response from Netflix or the developers of the game 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." [4][5]
De-indexing of adult games from campaign pressure
On July 11, 2025, Collective Shout issued an open statement demanding credit card payments to immediately cease processing "payments on Steam and itch.io". The reasoning for statement by Collective Shout was because of a game on itch.io called "No Mercy", which featured some hardcore NSFW content. [6][7] A few days later, itch.io responded by delisting adult content in search results.[8] On July 31 itch.io re-indexed all free NSFW games but with a new "content warning" tag for games with NSFW in them.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Creator FAQ". Itch.io. Retrieved 13 Aug 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Are games from itch.io DRM free?". Reddit. 16 Mar 2018. Retrieved 13 Aug 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Introducing open revenue sharing". Tumblr. October 2013.
- ↑ ShawnS (31 Jan 2025). "OXENFREE". Delisted Games. Archived from the original on 21 Mar 2025. Retrieved 27 Jun 2025.
- ↑ Colp, Tyler (9 Sep 2024). "Another reminder that your digital library isn't forever: Oxenfree will be completely removed from Itch.io next month". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 23 May 2025. Retrieved 27 Jun 2025.
- ↑ Bita, Natasha (15 July 2025). "Child safety group finds 500 online 'games' role-playing rape and incest". The Australian. Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- ↑ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (22 July 2025). "Anti-porn group who tried to ban GTA 5 claim credit for Steam's sex game crackdown". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ↑ "Update on NSFW content". Itch.io. 2025-07-24.
- ↑ "Reindexing adult NSFW content". Itch.io. 2025-07-31.