Perhaps there was some kind of failure in communication, and when Valve read that Nighthawks was a game set in a world where vampires had been exposed, they thought it was the indecent sort? Either way, for a few days over the weekend, only people who could get past Steam's strict adult content filter could view the store page for Nighthawks, an upcoming prose-driven vampire RPG from The Curiosity Engine.

This was a surprise for Nighthawks' creative lead and writer, Richard Cobbett (who I wrote alongside at RPS and PC Gamer), who made it clear on BlueSky that while sexy–as all good vampire games are wont to be–it is not particularly horny, and any romance in the game results in a flash of thigh, maybe a half-covered bum, and then a fade to black. Hardly hardcore. But without a way to directly appeal this decision, the game hung in limbo.

Thankfully, after the issue spread to being covered by the gaming press (including both RPS and PC Gamer), the miscategorization has been resolved, but not before thoroughly freaking out both the lead developer and publishing lead Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games. All's well that ends well in this case, with the game getting a significant boost in visibility, but as Gilbert attests, that was just the silver lining on a very stressful cloud.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Just recently, the comedy adventure Future? No Thanks! (about a crotchety old man yelling at clouds and refusing to accept a softer world made by younger generations) was flagged similarly as adult content. All developer Molleindustria could do was theorize that it's over a scene featuring a pair of extremely low-fi (square, in fact) nipples, but as with the Nighthawks situation, Valve aren't giving their reasoning for their decisions.

If this sounds like blatant hypocrisy, given that AAA mega-hits like Baldur's Gate 3 get no such restrictions, despite full frontal nudity and sex scenes showing everything short of Tab A going into Slot B, and even a smattering of Vampire Twink-On-Bear (as in the grizzly kind) action, then yes, it is. And (apologies for my inability to find the quote on Bluesky), I've seen writers at Larian expressing frustration at this double standard too.

The issue was only compounded by Valve's previous sweeping content-control decisions. In the UK and, more recently, Australia, you're not allowed to even view the store pages for games flagged as 'Adult' unless you have a credit card to use as ID. While that might be a ubiquitous piece of wallet-filler in America, at least a full third of adults in the UK (myself included) don't have one, just a debit card. The number without a credit card is even higher in Australia. That's a lot of people to lock out arbitrarily, and Steam is the only games store with this particular requirement.

Worse still for anyone in Germany, who aren't even given that option. They are just permanently locked out of games that the store considers too spicy, even if it's something like the cult horror RPG hit Fear & Hunger 2, regularly seen cosplayed at conventions. Many stores and sites have been tightening up their age-vetting ever since indie-centric store Itch.io came under fire from payment processors demanding control over what content is viewed or even sold, and it doesn't seem like things are going to get better any time soon.

But even before that, Valve established a track record for being inconsistently censorious, even beyond flagging. Case in point, the famous visual novel Full Metal Daemon Muramasa was entirely blocked from release on Steam, despite the English version cutting out all explicit sexual content. That same edited-down version is being sold without issue on GOG. And for the highest-profile example, Steam still refuses to allow Santa Ragione's short horror game Horses on Steam, despite it featuring nothing that wouldn't pass muster in an M-rated film. Again, sold without issue on GOG.

I'd like to say that these issues were blips. Rare instances that will blow over quickly, but I've seen this and similar situations play out enough times to feel like this is just one more minefield that indie developers are going to have to navigate while AAA giants get to casually stride past safely. But I'm happy to see this case resolved, at least. From the little I've played of it so far (thanks to Wadjet Eye for the preview key), it's a game that deserves more eyes on it for sure.

Nighthawks launches next week on September 22nd, and I hope to have at least some hands-on impressions when it goes live.