Valve Stops Accepting Early Access Submissions for Adult Games on Steam

Valve has quietly stopped accepting Early Access submissions for games that contain explicit sexual content on Steam.

Over the past week, multiple developers have reported receiving rejection messages from Valve when trying to list their projects under Early Access. The message reads: “Your app has failed our review because we're unable to support the Early Access model of development for a game with mature themes. Please resubmit when your app is ready to launch without Early Access.”

What makes this more confusing is that Valve hasn’t offered an official explanation. Many in the industry suspect the move could be tied to growing pressure from payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard, all of which have recently tightened their policies on adult-themed material. Check timeline [here].

The issue first came to light after developers shared screenshots of rejection notices online. One of the affected studios is Dammitbird, creators of the adult adventure Heavy Hearts. Speaking to GamesMarkt, the team explained: “The general rule is that your game should be about 65% done before EA. We’re around 70% finished, so the timing was right. But suddenly, without warning, the rules changed, and now we can’t join Steam EA.”

Other developers have faced similar problems. The Restoration of Aphrodisia by Blue Fairy Media Games, a tactical RPG with adult themes, was rejected after weeks of back-and-forth with Steam. Meanwhile, Monolilith, an adult strategy game by Malerouille, was outright denied Early Access.

This new restriction creates another challenge: without an approved build, store pages can’t pass review, which means developers can’t open up wishlisting until very close to launch. For indie teams that rely heavily on Early Access visibility, this could be a serious setback.

Interestingly, existing adult games already in Early Access, such as Wicked Island, remain available for now. However, some developers worry updates might get blocked or, in a worst-case scenario, titles could be pulled down altogether. To adapt, some studios are considering alternatives like launching censored “safe” versions on Steam while distributing uncensored patches through Patreon or itch.io. Others might skip Early Access entirely and release their games as full builds.

For now, it seems nothing is going smoothly for adult game developers on Steam. Valve has yet to comment publicly on the matter, leaving many creators in limbo and unsure of how to move forward.