Overview

• Developers report new rejections for Early Access, including Dammitbird’s Heavy Hearts, with Valve stating it cannot support the model for games with mature themes.
• Valve has not publicly defined what constitutes mature themes, and affected creators have been told they may resubmit only once their games are ready for full release.
• The move extends actions Valve began in July, when it confirmed retiring certain titles after banks and card‑network rules threatened Steam’s payment methods.
• Engadget and others have documented broader fallout, with Steam removing hundreds of titles and itch.io deindexing more than 20,000 NSFW listings during platform audits.
• At least one additional developer has reported a similar Early Access denial, underscoring concerns about opaque standards and expanding enforcement.