Over the last week, a large drama storm has been raging on Steam over some bizarre warnings from Valve that hit certain types of games out of nowhere, threatening removal from the service if the content wasn’t censored in some way. This hit games like erotic visual novels from publisher MangaGamer, whose game Kindred Spirits was the first uncensored game of its kind to be allowed on the platform in the first place. Now, in response, MangaGamer is taking its wares elsewhere.
After things got loud, Valve would eventually reach out to these companies and retract the warnings. Regardless, MangaGamer released a statement announcing that its content will be coming to the GOG platform, including well-known games such as Higurashi When They Cry (which is actually a popular horror game). In the press release, MangaGamer accused Valve of threatening the livelihoods of visual novel developers, and that the company is excited to have its games on the “next biggest retailer in the PC market.”
The full list of MangaGamer games launching on GOG are Fault, Sunrider, eden*, and the aforementioned Higurashi . The company is also in talks with GOG to get Kindred Spirits on the service, and eight other titles. This seems to be a big helping of fuel added to a fire that has seen indie and niche developers lose trust and value in Steam despite its size over the past few years. Many smaller titles have seen better success on other platforms like GOG and the Switch, part of the reason being Valve constantly changing its policies, and discoverability also being a huge problem.
Source: Kotaku