Itch.io denies hiding one of 2024's best games from search results amid the payment processor crackd

was one of the best games of 2024, "a horror game [[link]] whose narrative and aesthetics are going to be remembered, celebrated, and emulated" for years to come, as PC Gamer's Ted Litchfield wrote in his glowing . And if you'd like to buy it on indie-focused digital marketplace Itch.io, you're going to have a bit of a problem, because Mouthwashing no longer shows up in searches.

The removal from search results was first reported by Martin Halldin of developer Wrong Organ, who said on Bluesky that he "was kinda waiting for it to happen." I tested it myself and sure enough, Mouthwashing simply does not show up in search results.

Not surprised, was kinda waiting for it to happen

— @siarate.bsky.social ()

At first this appeared to be the result of Itch.io's decision games on the platform in response to pressure from credit card companies, which in turn were pressured by a campaign from Australian anti-porn organization Collective Shout. That campaign was initially sparked by the "non-consensual sex" game , which appeared briefly on Steam earlier this year before being removed by its creator following a major outcry over its content.

While it ostensibly targets "rape, incest, and child abuse games on Steam," Itch.io corrected hard in the face of the potential threat, that it "had to act urgently to protect the platform's core payment infrastructure" and ensure game makers on the platform—those whose content didn't offend decency crusaders in Australia, that is—continue to get paid.

I think it's fair to say Mouthwashing is adult-oriented, in the sense that it deals with some heavy shit: "There's nothing supernatural or mysterious about the horror in Mouthwashing⁠, just the brutal fallout of a human drama downstream from—sorry to be that guy—capitalism," Ted wrote in his review. "It's a story about how a life without a future makes someone sour, the small joys and overwhelming horror to be found in shit work, and how even the worst circumstances don't necessarily make one's actions sympathetic or justified."

So yeah, mature subject matter as the police procedural pre-rolls put it, and clearly not very pleasant stuff. But the kind of thing that's going to fall afoul of an anti-porn group? Pretty clearly not, but this is what inevitably happens when big money paints with a broad brush.

Thank you, with the new policy changes caused by Mastercard/Visa it was just a matter of time. Luckily itch isn't our biggest revenue source but something like this would absolutely screw over smaller creators which makes me furious. Not at itch but at the payment processors pushing these changes

— @siarate.bsky.social ()

Except that may not be the case here. Several hours after Halldin revealed that Mouthwashing was being hidden in Itch.io search results, the platform said on Bluesky that the claim "is not true," and that the game hasn't been indexed in search resulted since October 2024 because it [[link]] doesn't meet the required criteria.

"The developers are using a 'Download' button as a link to Steam," Itch.io wrote. "The developer took down any [[link]] playable files form this page in 2024."

That is indeed the case: Clicking the download button on the Mouthwashing page on Itch.io opens a new tab to the Steam page. Itch.io requires that pages "must be purchasable, downloadable, or playable in the browser to be indexed," and with the purchase link leading off-site, Mouthwashing arguably does not meet that requirement.

"[External download links] aren’t against the rules, we just don’t index placeholder pages or pages that are just links to somewhere else," Itch.io founder Leaf Corcoran posted on the platform's Mouthwashing page. "We want people browsing the itch.io main site to be viewing games they can access on itch.io. That doesn’t mean you can’t, for example, use itch.io pages as a portfolio with your work that is hosted elsewhere. It just won’t be promoted by our discovery tools."

This game hasn't been indexed Since October 2024 since it doesn't meet our indexing criteria: itch.io/docs/creator... They are using a "Download" button as a link to Steam. The developer took down any playable files form this page in 2024.

— @itch.io ()

Halldin, however, insisted in a that Mouthwashing "was listed + indexed until just recently, somewhere between this morning or 8 days ago when the last comment was left on the page." It sure seems like there's a misunderstanding somewhere, although either way Mouthwashing definitely isn't appearing in search results on Itch.io: The only question is whether it got caught up in a payment processor panic, or simply violated an obscure policy nearly a year ago and nobody noticed until now.

Mouthwashing, for the record, remains available on Itch, you just can't find it via the search function—you need a direct link. So, here's a You can also pick it up on , where it currently remains discoverable. I've reached out to Wrong Organ and Itch.io for comment and will update if I receive a reply.

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