NEOWIZ cancels the BrownDust2 Steam launch

Anime gacha RPG BrownDust2, which celebrated its 200,000 Steam wishlists a couple of days ago, complete with a breakdown of extra in-game rewards unlocked by hitting that milestone, disappeared from the storefront.

The developers of this fanservice-heavy gacha role-playing game immediately acknowledged the problem and issued a statement that read, “We’ve identified an issue where access to the BrownDust2 game page and community features on the Steam platform is currently restricted.  We are in communication with Steam and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

The community wondered if the disappearance was due to the gifts that served as stretch goals for the wishlists, as Valve isn’t always appreciative of something that could be deemed manipulation, or if it was content-related.

The latter turned out to be the case, as in a follow-up statement a couple of days later, the developer team stated that the game is no longer coming to Steam due to the changes that would have to be made, which would go against the core design of the game.

“We considered multiple options to make the release possible, but in order to preserve the game’s core direction and overall quality, we came to the conclusion that making the necessary adjustments at this time would not be appropriate.

For everyone who supported the Steam release, we will still be distributing all previously announced rewards, including:

Community event rewards related to Steam, and Wishlist milestone rewards

These will be sent out after the December 16 update.”

The game’s age rating has been climbing over time. Earlier this year, NEOWIZ informed players that BrownDust2’s Google Play rating was being raised to “PEGI 18 / IARC 18+”, with adult verification required in some regions. On its official site, it’s now flagged with PEGI 18 descriptors for sexual content and in-game purchases.

It’s worth noting that just having adult content is not grounds for dismissal from Steam’s storefront, as there are lots of very explicit games being sold without any issues. This, however, hints at Valve not wanting to host something in particular that BrownDust2 has.

This cancellation comes amid the censorship that adult-oriented games have been facing due to pressure from payment processors and activist groups like Collective Shout. Steam has updated its guidelines and deplatformed several games, while itch.io, a true-indy-oriented storefront, has completely delisted every single adult game on the platform.

One of the most recent examples is the surreal horror game by Santa Ragione – Horses. Valve declined Horses for Steam, and after initially approving it, the Epic Games Store banned the game about a day before launch, citing “hateful or abusive content” and concerns around its disturbing depiction of stylised nude “horses” with human features.

The developers argue that Horses is a critique of abuse, not an endorsement of anything. But it didn’t matter; both major PC storefronts looked at the art and themes, saw a potential child-exploitation controversy brewing, and chose to avoid the risk completely.

For BrownDust2, the situation isn’t as bad. The game already exists on mobile platforms, and NEOWIZ is actively looking into alternative PC storefronts to publish the title on.