The adult game crackdown is “ridiculous for our art form”, say Hellraiser devs, but they think they’ll survive thanks to that Clive Barker association
The developers of Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival have criticised the recent crackdown on adult content in video games, calling it "ridiculous" for the medium, but believe the game's explicit horror content will survive scrutiny because Hellraiser is a well-established franchise. The comments follow a campaign by Australian anti-porn group Collective Shout, which last year pressured payment processors including Mastercard, PayPal, Visa and Paysafe to threaten withdrawal from Steam and Itch.io unless the platforms removed adult games, creating ongoing uncertainty for developers of games containing sexual content.
Narrative director Antony de Fault said the campaign "spooked" the team but prompted no changes to the game, which features a demo set largely in a fetish club with sexually explicit content and nudity. Game director Emil Esov argued that Hellraiser's status as an established IP dating back to the 1980s effectively grandfathers it in, making it easier to defend than an original title would be. Despite this confidence, the game—due on Steam on 8 October—still lacks age classification for sale in Germany and has not been submitted for certification in Japan, echoing recent difficulties faced by Illfonic's Halloween: The Game, which was cancelled for PS5 release in Japan over similar issues.
In short
- Hellraiser: Revival devs call adult game content crackdown "ridiculous"
- They believe Hellraiser's established IP status offers some protection
- Game launches on Steam 8 October, but lacks classification in some regions
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of tighter limits argue that payment platforms and game stores have a legitimate role in reducing access to sexually explicit material, particularly where age controls or consistent standards are lacking. They may see pressure on platforms as a way to protect younger users and ensure commercial services are not required to facilitate content they consider harmful.
The case against
Critics argue that broad or uncertain restrictions can curtail creative expression and make it difficult for developers to know what content is acceptable, even when it is part of a fictional horror work. They also warn that relying on payment processors to set de facto content rules can disadvantage original games while established franchises receive more latitude, creating inconsistent treatment of creators.
Explained simply
Hellraiser is a horror series created by British writer Clive Barker in the 1980s, known for graphic violence and themes involving pain and desire. Hellraiser: Revival is a new video game based on the series, made by a team including narrative director Antony de Fault and game director Emil Esov.
Collective Shout, an Australian campaign group opposed to pornography, has urged payment companies to stop processing payments for platforms that host adult games. Payment companies such as Mastercard, Visa and PayPal play a role in how people buy games on services such as Steam and Itch.io, so their policies can affect what developers are able to sell.
The debate matters to developers whose games include sexual content, as well as to players and digital storefronts. Games also need to meet the age-rating and classification rules of the countries where they are sold; those rules can affect whether a game is available in particular markets.
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