The unexpectedly popular game House Party has been removed from Steam, with its developer stating that Valve removed it from the platform as a result of complaints it had received regarding its sexual content.
Despite its crude design, House Party‘s odd sense of humor helped it attract a surprisingly large audience, with its success being helped by the support of a number of prominent YouTubers who took to playing the game on their channels. However, the game has now been removed from Steam, and while those who purchased it before its take down can still play it, the removal of its Steam page means that no new sales can be made.
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Writing on the game’s official Discord channel, game developer Bobby wrote:
“For those wondering about the Steam removal, they said they took the game down because they “received a lot of complaints.” They are honoring all sales made, and people who purchased can still play right now, and will still receive updates. I am talking to Steam and working out the details, but the game will still be available for those who purchased, and will be back once we come to a solution.”
While Bobby did not expand upon the reasoning behind those complaints, it is imaginable that they would have something to do with its sexual content, with it featuring full-frontal nudity and sexual imagery. If this is the case, then some have weighed in to express how Valve needs to outline specific policies in regards to sexual content featured on Steam in order to prevent such issues arising again.
House Party is a shite game no doubt but removal from Steam indicates Valve needs a codified, clear policy on sexual content on their store
— TotalBiscuit (@Totalbiscuit) July 27, 2017
However, its removal from Steam could also be as a result of copyright issues, with the game featuring a number of logos from prominent brands such as Facebook, Jack Daniel’s and Sony. It seems that Bobby is working to get the game reinstated to Steam, so we’ll find out soon enough what has been removed in order to satisfy Valve.
