Hello.

I am writing this devlog in response to Itch's decision to deindex (making them not show up in searches) all NSFW material on the site, of which The Red Ballet - and everything but Stars In Your Eyes - have been impacted by. It is a decision that is thoroughly felt in the FVN sphere, as the vast majority have NSFW aspects, whether or not the game actually has explicit erotic content. Of further note, certain games have been entirely removed if Itch has deemed them to contain especially 'unsavoury' things, with seemingly no regard for how such topics are even portrayed. It sets a precedent, raising the question of what else will become unsavoury enough to have no place in gaming spaces. 

Itch has made a statement, which you can read here. In summary, the decision was made due to the pressure the organization Collective Shout has put on payment processors. While their presented mission statement of fighting sexual violence would certainly be a good thing, and games such as the (banned) one they hold up as an example of deplorable content found in gaming should absolutely not be allowed anywhere at all - organizations such as these do not actually care about making the world a better and safer place, but only want to push their moralising agenda onto anything they can. They put sex workers in a more unsafe position; they censor queer art and our ability to make any kind of a living from it; they further misinformation about the reality of child abuse, resulting in more victims when people don't recognise the real warning signs.

Collective Shout has gotten what they wanted through a petition and some phone calls. I'm sure we can do that too.

For Americans, I have seen this petition being forwarded. Check out Chord Progressions' devlog for other avenues to make changes, as I am not American.

For non-Americans, this is a petition I have seen being forwarded.

And while I hope it's not an issue in anyone following me, do NOT attack anyone at Collective Shout with misogynist, disgusting threats of violence. People with mindsets like that are the core problem that all 'sides' should be the ones actually fighting against. However much I disagree with the organization, the threats they receive should not be happening either.

In terms of what this means for my own games, I'll continue making them, of course. Ironically, The Red Ballet is precisely about the topics and people organizations like Collective Shout exploit for their own goals, and my drive to fight for everyone fucked over by a world that can often be ugly and painful will never change.

I do recommend people follow devs of games they have an interest in on other platforms like Bluesky - to get updates on development, announcements if our games get removed, or in case we have to migrate to another hosting site.