Last week, developers of a few of the more adult games on Steam received warnings about their content. Despite the fact that Valve has since retracted the harsh warnings and threats of removal, some of the companies in question are still feeling a little spooked by the whole experience.
Now, a few of the major developers of visual novels are looking to take their goods elsewhere. MangaGamer, a publishing company that brings Japanese visual novels to English speaking audiences, announced today on their blog that they’ve just reached a major agreement with GOG.com to begin hosting their catalog.
The selection will be limited at first to just a couple of their most popular titles Higurashi When They Cry and eden*, however, they are currently in talks to bring all of their games over to GOG. This includes A Kiss for the Petals ~Maidens of Michael~, which was removed from Steam early this year with no warning.
“Steam has now proven that it’s growing unreliable for small and independent developers, so we are very grateful to have the next biggest retailer in the PC market welcoming visual novels with open arms and an eye for quality,” PR director John Pickett said in the announcement.
MangaGamer aren’t the only ones looking to make a change. Lupiesoft, whose title Mutiny!! was one that received one of the threatening messages last week, tweeted that they are working on bringing the game to three new platforms before Steam has a chance to take it down.
HuniePop developer HunieDev even chimed in on the developments. Though they were a little less harsh towards Steam for its stance on their game, they do mention that they will be looking for more options. HuniePop is already available on GOG but, just like Steam, they do host the censored version of the game.
Visual novels and those with adult content may not make up the majority of Steam’s offerings, but it is always troubling to see developers fleeing from certain platforms. Censorship is not a popular topic amongst gamers, and it is possible that Valve will face some backlash for this unfortunate set of circumstances.
However, it is the internet and options are always good. If Steam isn’t the right platform for these types of interactive experiences, they will clearly find homes elsewhere online. It will be interesting to see how and if this story develops, for Valve has still promised to reevaluate the content of the titles that originally received warnings.
Either way, be sure to check in with the developers of your favorite visual novels to see if they might be taking their talents, and their content, elsewhere.