Indie Developer Calls Valve a Monopoly and Criticizes Adult Content Moderation Policy

Valve moderators are insisting on an adults-only rating for the indie title Future? No Thanks! while refusing to explain their decision to developer Paolo Pedercini.

Earlier this summer, indie developer Paolo “Molleindustria” Pedercini spoke about release obstacles for Future? No Thanks! on PC via Steam, where Valve moderators placed the project under intense scrutiny. In an interview with Aftermath, Pedercini shared details regarding his interactions with the company.

According to Pedercini, Valve repeatedly demanded that his game be assigned an adults-only rating, placing it in the same category as explicit pornographic titles. Valve representatives refused to clarify their stance or provide specific reasoning for the age rating.

The developer noted that while the game features brief nudity and mature themes, it contains no explicit sexual acts on screen.

Pedercini added that Steam operates as an unprecedented monopoly, leaving developers completely dependent on the platform’s whims.

The adults-only classification has sharply reduced the game’s visibility on Steam. In the United Kingdom, legal regulations require users to verify that they are over 18 before accessing the store page. The game is also entirely unavailable to Steam users in Germany and China.

Pedercini stated that he is willing to modify the project to secure a lower rating, but cannot do so because Valve has not specified the offending material. Valve representatives told him they cannot point to reasons or specific content.

The creator of Future? No Thanks! now plans to cut portions of content from the Steam edition and release a full “director’s cut” on another platform.