Nighthawks, the long-in-development vampire RPG due to be released later this month, is the latest game to run afoul of Steam’s increasingly stringent rules regarding adult content. According to publisher Wadjet Eye Games, the game has been labelled ‘Adults Only’—causing it to be removed from Steam search and outright delisted in certain countries like Germany—despite claims from both developer and publisher that the RPG’s depictions of sex and nudity are very mild.
“We are aware that Steam has classified Nighthawks as an adult game and has excluded it from searches,” Wadjet Eye boss Dave Gilbert wrote on Bluesky. “We are working on it. Valve is under the impression that this game is way sexier than it actually is.” Gilbert further commented that “Valve is basically treating Nighthawks like a porn game!” in responding to a reply to his initial post.
A game being labelled Adults Only can affect its visibility in several ways. Adults Only games will not appear in Steam searches by default, requiring users to log in, verify their age (which requires the use of a credit card in some countries) and adjust their preferred content settings before they become visible. In addition, the label can cause games to be delisted outright in certain countries.
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In a statement to PC Gamer, Nighthawks’ creator Richard Cobbett (who, for the sake of transparency, is also a PC Gamer contributor) provided an overview of the situation, and how the Adults Only label is likely to affect Nighthawks’ launch:
“It’s very bad news for us, because it immediately makes the game persona non grata in several important countries like Germany,” Cobbett wrote. “We’re not sure exactly what triggered the issue, but we’ve obviously contacted Valve and we’re hoping that they will quickly remove the scarlet letter.”
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Cobbett also outlined the themes and ideas Nighthawks explores and depicts, and explained why the Adults Only label has come as such a shock: “Vampires are inherently a bit sexy, and Nighthawks is definitely a mature game in terms of content. However, regarding nudity, sex, and similar elements specifically, it’s really all very mild, usually comedic in tone when it happens, and far less explicit than anything you’d see on HBO.”
Going into specifics, Cobbett added that “in terms of content, we’re talking a few butt shots and some other censored naughty bits, mostly as part of companion romances and similar content, where you don’t get to see anything explicit and sex scenes typically consist of a fun ‘date’ type adventure to explore the relationship and different character dynamics along with perhaps a small slice of cheesecake, but ultimately don’t go much further than a tasteful fade to black followed by ‘Ten minutes later.'”
Nighthawks isn’t the only game to be recently caught out by Valve’s stricter adult content policies. In July, the indie adventure Future? No thanks! was forced to delay its release on account of a weeks-long Steam review process, which was triggered by the presence of ‘dozens of untextured polygons depicting ass and boobs’ in one of its sequences. The review process was eventually completed in the game’s favour, and Future? No Thanks! released on Steam on September 4.
Part of the problem is that Valve’s rules on what qualifies as adult content are somewhat byzantine. Valve requires developers to appropriately age gate games with mature or adult themes, but doesn’t itself draw a line between the two, requiring developers to make that judgment for themselves. Matters were further complicated last year when Valve added another rule that prohibits “Content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks, or internet network providers. In particular, certain kinds of adult only content.”
Ultimately, Cobbett concluded that “If you’re not scandalised by the likes of Dragon Age, you’re really not going to get too hot and bothered here either. We’re hoping that Valve will quickly reverse the decision and approve the game so that everyone can get to be the vampire they deserve to be as planned next week.”
PC Gamer has reached out to Valve for comment. Nighthawks is set to launch on September 22.