Idea for an adult game site

[MissCougar]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, I really do appreciate people taking the time to lay out concerns in good faith. Just to be clear: I'm not walking into this blind. I’m aware of the technical, legal, and operational complexities involved in setting up a platform like this. Payment processors, server infrastructure, global compliance, customer support, all of it.

When I talk about a "dev-friendly platform" or a better rev split like 90/10, it's not from a place of naivety. It’s from a place of frustration. As creators, we’ve watched platforms clamp down on NSFW content, not because of law, but because of pressure, often from payment processors or activist groups. We’re already working under constant threat of losing income, visibility, or access to our own audiences.

And yes moderation, security, and legal compliance matter. A good ToS isn’t a magic shield. But we’ve seen time and again that platforms use those things as an excuse for overreach or outright censorship. I believe it's possible to build a space where adult content isn't treated as radioactive, where rules are clear, moderation is responsible, and freedom and safety aren't mutually exclusive.

As for the revenue split, I completely agree it sounds ambitious. But it’s meant to be. It’s not based on matching Steam or Patreon’s user base, it’s based on building leaner, purpose-driven infrastructure, not bloated corporate overhead. If there’s any advantage to starting small, it’s being agile enough to make the economics more creator-friendly.

If this never goes beyond discussion, that’s fine, we still benefit from talking about it. But dismissing the entire idea as “unrealistic” just reinforces the current status quo, and personally, I think creators deserve better than that.

I think the reality is the idea is unrealistic only because the state of the world. It's like saying "I'm going to pretend the world is how I want it to be" but it won't change the reality of feminist groups that would hammer you, or the payment processors cutting you off at the knee, or groups going after your hosting company to shut you down, etc.

The world sucks for this kind of thing right now, and even the big companies are failing to stand up to it. Maybe after this mess passes and CC companies are forced to be services rather than moral police governed by themselves and able to inflict their will on other companies, this idea would be great.

Right now a lot of people feel this way because they want creativity to flourish and they see where this can go (it won't stop at just porn games), and they are fighting back how they think they can. Setting up another webpage doing the same thing as all the others isn't going to be the way to win the war though. You need to fix the payment processors and/or the governments. This is a huge problem and the solution is complex and not trivial, and won't be solved because another Patreon for porn games was launched.

 

[DoAdventures]

I think the reality is the idea is unrealistic only because the state of the world. It's like saying "I'm going to pretend the world is how I want it to be" but it won't change the reality of feminist groups that would hammer you, or the payment processors cutting you off at the knee, or groups going after your hosting company to shut you down, etc.

The world sucks for this kind of thing right now, and even the big companies are failing to stand up to it. Maybe after this mess passes and CC companies are forced to be services rather than moral police governed by themselves and able to inflict their will on other companies, this idea would be great.

Right now a lot of people feel this way because they want creativity to flourish and they see where this can go (it won't stop at just porn games), and they are fighting back how they think they can. Setting up another webpage doing the same thing as all the others isn't going to be the way to win the war though. You need to fix the payment processors and/or the governments. This is a huge problem and the solution is complex and not trivial, and won't be solved because another Patreon for porn games was launched.

I get why people are saying it's unrealistic and on the surface, sure, it might seem like just “another adult platform idea.” But it's that kind of defeatism which is exactly why nothing’s changed in years.

This isn't me waking up one day thinking, "You know what, maybe I'll try launching a platform today!"
I’ve been thinking about this for two years, ever since I hit a wall trying to get my own game onto Steam. This isn't a knee-jerk reaction to what's happening with Patreon, Steam, Mastercard or VISA. This is a long-simmering frustration that's now boiling over, because we’re at a point where creatives are being boxed in from all sides.

I’ve built and transitioned entire IT infrastructures. I’ve run companies. I manage complex portfolios in the public sector. I know exactly how hard infrastructure, compliance, and scale can be and I’m not pretending this is easy, or fast, or something that’ll “win the war” overnight. But:

We don’t win by doing nothing.
We don’t win by saying, “Let’s wait until Mastercard and VISA magically changes its mind.”
We win by starting, by building something solid and developer-focused now, even if it’s small, so that if the tide finally does shift, we’re already standing.

And yes, a lot of the battle is in payment processing and policy. But if developers keep rallying around platforms that already bend the knee or keep their heads down to avoid pressure, then the outcome is already written.

This isn't about pretending the world is how I want it to be. It’s about making sure there's still a place for the kind of creativity that's being systematically strangled elsewhere. Even if it takes years. Even if it’s not perfect. I’m not here to replicate what already exists. I’m just here because what exists isn’t good enough.

 

[c3p0]

This isn't about pretending the world is how I want it to be. It’s about making sure there's still a place for the kind of creativity that's being systematically strangled elsewhere. Even if it takes years. Even if it’s not perfect. I’m not here to replicate what already exists. I’m just here because what exists isn’t good enough.

Then here, I'm playing the devil's advocate, you found one payment processor for your site. Now they demand to remove some of the games you have on your page (let's say 7%) or they don't do any business at all with you any more. What will you do?

 

[DoAdventures]

Then here, I'm playing the devil's advocate, you found one payment processor for your site. Now they demand to remove some of the games you have on your page (let's say 7%) or they don't do any business at all with you any more. What will you do?

Let’s say we’re using CCBill which is likely, since they’re one of the few processors that actually understand and service adult content without pretending they don’t. They’ve been around for decades, and they have established compliance standards that creators and platforms can work within. That’s a solid foundation, not a shaky one.

Now, if they came to me (Side note, it wouldn't just be me as I have said I would want this to be co-owned - Not just one person with all the keys) and said, “These 7% of games don’t meet compliance,” the first step isn’t to panic or surrender, it’s dialogue. CCBill doesn’t tend to act unilaterally unless something’s seriously out of line or clearly non-compliant. And if that’s the case, it’s better to know and work through it transparently, with devs, rather than risk everything for a couple of edge cases.

But before they even process a single transaction, they require full review and approval of the Terms of Service, Terms of Refund, and site content policies. That means they already know what they’re signing up to before day one.

I’m not coming at this as a tourist. I know the terrain and I’m looking to build something with a spine with everyone else that wants to be involved.

 

[MissCougar]

I get why people are saying it's unrealistic and on the surface, sure, it might seem like just “another adult platform idea.” But it's that kind of defeatism which is exactly why nothing’s changed in years.

This isn't me waking up one day thinking, "You know what, maybe I'll try launching a platform today!"
I’ve been thinking about this for two years, ever since I hit a wall trying to get my own game onto Steam. This isn't a knee-jerk reaction to what's happening with Patreon, Steam, Mastercard or VISA. This is a long-simmering frustration that's now boiling over, because we’re at a point where creatives are being boxed in from all sides.

I’ve built and transitioned entire IT infrastructures. I’ve run companies. I manage complex portfolios in the public sector. I know exactly how hard infrastructure, compliance, and scale can be and I’m not pretending this is easy, or fast, or something that’ll “win the war” overnight. But:

We don’t win by doing nothing.
We don’t win by saying, “Let’s wait until Mastercard and VISA magically changes its mind.”
We win by starting, by building something solid and developer-focused now, even if it’s small, so that if the tide finally does shift, we’re already standing.

And yes, a lot of the battle is in payment processing and policy. But if developers keep rallying around platforms that already bend the knee or keep their heads down to avoid pressure, then the outcome is already written.

This isn't about pretending the world is how I want it to be. It’s about making sure there's still a place for the kind of creativity that's being systematically strangled elsewhere. Even if it takes years. Even if it’s not perfect. I’m not here to replicate what already exists. I’m just here because what exists isn’t good enough.

The fight you're trying to fight isn't going to be won because you built another house where nobody is allowed to build houses. Your house will last approximately as long as it takes for you to get on someone's radar and then it's going to be over.

You also won't get much popular opinion outside of the people already upset currently because defending porn isn't something that's high on anyone's list.

Since you have this level of knowledge and skill you should start your own payment processor and then work on getting that going. If you have an uncensored payment processor who's only regulation is to meet the laws of the region its used in, you might have something successful on your hands. You'll still have censoring pro but at least you could try to fight for it in region that don't have laws against something people are trying to block because of nebulous morals.

Or go to Patreon, or Steam, and tell them "look guys, I'm big person XY and I can force your platform to steamroll right over these petty people and here's how we'll do it!" And then you slap down all the stuff your lawyers have because if it works for your future webpage it should also work for existing platforms as well, right?

You save steam, save gamer freedom, and make a boat of money for you and your lawyers who know exactly how to get around all this stuff.

 

[Midzay]

I'm following the discussion. I ask myself: why couldn't/wouldn't Pornhub maintain relations with Visa and MasterCard? It seemed like they had fulfilled all their conditions. What didn't work out for them?

 

[anne O'nymous]

As creators, we’ve watched platforms clamp down on NSFW content, not because of law, but because of pressure, often from payment processors or activist groups.

Payment processors that put the pressure because of the Law.
Once again, if it was a question of morality, Patreon would have removed all the adult content. Not just games, but also photography, videos, and the other categories. Same for Steam who wouldn't have just banned incest and rape. The fact that you don't want to hear it do not make less true.

As for activist groups, once again if it was their doing, all porn content would have been removed.

We’re already working under constant threat of losing income, visibility, or access to our own audiences.

Patreon started its ban late 2017. 4 years later you decided to include in your games content (rape, sexual harassment, slave, sleep sex), that is known as being at high risk and to be banned on Patreon, where you opened an account. You are the one who put the threat above your head, period.

But we’ve seen time and again that platforms use those things as an excuse for overreach or outright censorship.

When, where? The only platform that actually applied a censorship over porn is Tumblr. And it was because the platform was full of p*d*shit content.
All the others worked, sometimes hard, to find a middle ground in order to just ban the more legally borderline content. And this had a cost for them. The millions (20 for Patreon if my memory don't betray me) used for the mandatory frozen deposit if you want to operate with the major payment processors being only the tip of the iceberg. By example, OnlyFans had to multiply by ten its moderation team in order to keep it's adult content; because yes, it's not the only content available on OnlyFans.

Despite its alleged censorship, Patreon have more than 30,000 creators of adult content, spread among a tenth categories. I hope they are better at handling subscriptions than they are at handling censorship...

 

[MissCougar]

I'm following the discussion. I ask myself: why couldn't/wouldn't Pornhub maintain relations with Visa and MasterCard? It seemed like they had fulfilled all their conditions. What didn't work out for them?

I'm not sure of the details but I think PornHUB got to be big enough it became a target (and their moderation was poor and had more than enough less than legal content on it), and they bent the knee so hard it cratered their reputation into the ground so hard I think they lost a huge number of viewers and buyers in a very short period of time.

I think they are still clawing back, but they came close to making porn a common name and even have other logos mimic their own for being so good at what they did. They became an almost porny mainstream-accepted brand and a sort of uncensored YouTube alternative with adult content.

I doubt they will ever be as large as they were, but at least I guess they still exist.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

(and their moderation was poor and had more than enough less than legal content on it)

tbf, moderation on a site like that is near impossible. Part of the reason 230 protections exist in the first place. Even FOSTA-SESTA was changed to the specific wording of "knowingly", because it's not possible to catch everything on user-generated content sites.

 

[RPDL]

I'm not sure of the details but I think PornHUB got to be big enough it became a target

Pornhub has for years, been accused of hosting very illegal content.

You must be registered to see the links

Pornhubs problem wasn't that it was big, it was that it was knowingly hosting illegal material and profiting from it.

 

[DoAdventures]

Payment processors that put the pressure because of the Law.
Once again, if it was a question of morality, Patreon would have removed all the adult content. Not just games, but also photography, videos, and the other categories. Same for Steam who wouldn't have just banned incest and rape. The fact that you don't want to hear it do not make less true.

As for activist groups, once again if it was their doing, all porn content would have been removed.




Patreon started its ban late 2017. 4 years later you decided to include in your games content (rape, sexual harassment, slave, sleep sex), that is known as being at high risk and to be banned on Patreon, where you opened an account. You are the one who put the threat above your head, period.




When, where? The only platform that actually applied a censorship over porn is Tumblr. And it was because the platform was full of p*d*shit content.
All the others worked, sometimes hard, to find a middle ground in order to just ban the more legally borderline content. And this had a cost for them. The millions (20 for Patreon if my memory don't betray me) used for the mandatory frozen deposit if you want to operate with the major payment processors being only the tip of the iceberg. By example, OnlyFans had to multiply by ten its moderation team in order to keep it's adult content; because yes, it's not the only content available on OnlyFans.

Despite its alleged censorship, Patreon have more than 30,000 creators of adult content, spread among a tenth categories. I hope they are better at handling subscriptions than they are at handling censorship...

I appreciate the response, but I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding here, both of my point and of the wider industry dynamics.

Yes, some pressure stems from law particularly in jurisdictions like Germany, Canada, or Australia, but the reality is, a huge amount of pressure is not legal in origin. It's financial and reputational from card networks (Visa, Mastercard), payment processors, banks, and activist lobbying. That’s not conspiracy, that’s documented history. The FOSTA/SESTA fallout, Mastercard’s 2021 compliance push, and Visa’s own pullback from Pornhub all led to overreaching, preemptive moderation by platforms, often banning things that were still legal, simply to appease financial partners.

Tumblr is a clear example, yes. But let's also talk about SubscribeStar, which lost payment processing for not banning certain kinds of content. Or Stripe blacklisting developers over NSFW titles. Even Steam didn’t just “ban rape and incest” it threatened devs over any vaguely controversial tag at various points, including games with consensual BDSM or dark themes. None of this was about legality, it was about optics, risk mitigation, and corporate cowardice.

As for my own situation yes, I publish adult games. No, I’m not naïve about the risks. That’s precisely why I’ve spent two years thinking and preparing an alternative. Not as a reaction, but as a proactive choice. I’m not jumping into this because I got blocked once. I’m doing it because I believe creators deserve options. And because I’ve seen how fragile those “accepted” platforms actually are when the wrong person decides to press the red button.

Also, let’s not pretend sites like Patreon or OnlyFans aren’t constantly walking a knife’s edge. The $20 million reserve Patreon reportedly had to put up isn’t a sign of healthy acceptance. It’s a warning: "Play nice, or pay up, or lose access entirely." If one provider makes that demand, what happens when another does? Or when card companies change their terms again?

That’s why platforms need clarity, upfront agreements like what CCBill provides, including approved Terms of Service and acceptable content frameworks before any transaction happens. That’s not reckless. That’s how you build resilience.

The goal isn’t to break rules. It’s to stop relying on platforms that can’t decide what the rules even are.

And just to be clear, I don't want to argue or labour this idea too much. Would I prefer to have never had to think about any of this? Absolutely. Would I prefer a simpler, more streamlined way to get my games out to people without all this noise? Of course. Are other developers quietly raising the same concerns to me? Yes, they are. I don’t want to be the only one thinking about this and honestly, I don’t believe I am. There's probably something else already being built right now. And if it affords the kind of creative freedoms I’ve been banging on about and beating a drum for the last few days… then you can bet I’ll jump on that and leave the headaches to someone else.

 

[MissCougar]

tbf, moderation on a site like that is near impossible. Part of the reason 230 protections exist in the first place. Even FOSTA-SESTA was changed to the specific wording of "knowingly", because it's not possible to catch everything on user-generated content sites.

And this circles back to why a strongly worded ToS your lawyers authored up isn't going to be a shield you can wave your flag behind when the walls start falling in on you. Even if you use a shady and complicated payment processor most people won't want to use.

I think the reason SubscribeStar hasn't kicked off well is because of their shady payment system nobody wants to use. It's why they'll never be as big as Patreon and yet allows more creative freedom with their content. Not sure what kind of profits they are turning.

 

[Hagatagar]

You're getting old or does the week where you life have 24 days?

We all know once you wake up it's the next day, and when you sleep thrice a day...

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

And this circles back to why a strongly worded ToS your lawyers authored up isn't going to be a shield you can wave your flag behind when the walls start falling in on you. Even if you use a shady and complicated payment processor most people won't want to use.

Vetting games being sold is way easier than moderating user-generated content though?

 

[MissCougar]

I appreciate the response, but I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding here, both of my point and of the wider industry dynamics.

Yes, some pressure stems from law particularly in jurisdictions like Germany, Canada, or Australia, but the reality is, a huge amount of pressure is not legal in origin. It's financial and reputational from card networks (Visa, Mastercard), payment processors, banks, and activist lobbying. That’s not conspiracy, that’s documented history. The FOSTA/SESTA fallout, Mastercard’s 2021 compliance push, and Visa’s own pullback from Pornhub all led to overreaching, preemptive moderation by platforms, often banning things that were still legal, simply to appease financial partners.

Tumblr is a clear example, yes. But let's also talk about SubscribeStar, which lost payment processing for not banning certain kinds of content. Or Stripe blacklisting developers over NSFW titles. Even Steam didn’t just “ban rape and incest” it threatened devs over any vaguely controversial tag at various points, including games with consensual BDSM or dark themes. None of this was about legality, it was about optics, risk mitigation, and corporate cowardice.

As for my own situation yes, I publish adult games. No, I’m not naïve about the risks. That’s precisely why I’ve spent two years thinking and preparing an alternative. Not as a reaction, but as a proactive choice. I’m not jumping into this because I got blocked once. I’m doing it because I believe creators deserve options. And because I’ve seen how fragile those “accepted” platforms actually are when the wrong person decides to press the red button.

Also, let’s not pretend sites like Patreon or OnlyFans aren’t constantly walking a knife’s edge. The $20 million reserve Patreon reportedly had to put up isn’t a sign of healthy acceptance. It’s a warning: "Play nice, or pay up, or lose access entirely." If one provider makes that demand, what happens when another does? Or when card companies change their terms again?

That’s why platforms need clarity, upfront agreements like what CCBill provides, including approved Terms of Service and acceptable content frameworks before any transaction happens. That’s not reckless. That’s how you build resilience.

The goal isn’t to break rules. It’s to stop relying on platforms that can’t decide what the rules even are.

And just to be clear, I don't want to argue or labour this idea too much. Would I prefer to have never had to think about any of this? Absolutely. Would I prefer a simpler, more streamlined way to get my games out to people without all this noise? Of course. Are other developers quietly raising the same concerns to me? Yes, they are. I don’t want to be the only one thinking about this and honestly, I don’t believe I am. There's probably something else already being built right now. And if it affords the kind of creative freedoms I’ve been banging on about and beating a drum for the last few days… then you can bet I’ll jump on that and leave the headaches to someone else.

So just out of curiosity, have you put your game on SubscribeStar yet, and if so how is it doing money wise for you?

 

[RPDL]

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New CCBill merchants can complete the Merchant Application process and apply for Visa and/or Mastercard payment processing by agreeing to the MasterCard and/or Visa terms during that process.

 

[MissCougar]

Vetting games being sold is way easier than moderating user-generated content though?

I would say it is unless you allow early access titles. The game can change over time and add in content you may not want. Just like how it seems like the OPs game added in content Patreon didn't like over time.

Pornhub had a lot of problems and I'm not going to defend them. They did a bad thing and paid for it with their credibility ROFLMAO and value.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

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That's only if you wish to use those two. CCBill also allows, for example, ACH payments.

I would say it is unless you allow early access titles. The game can change over time and add in content you may not want.

If, for example CSAM is added, the game would be removed. There's a discord where this is being discussed.

 

[Count Morado]

There are so many regulatory documents that need signed and verified when accepting a new seller (such as an adult game developer) on a funding platform. There is identity verification, tax information, binding business agreements (it's not a handshake business), agreements to terms and conditions, etc etc etc etc. There are so many legal hurdles to jump through - and that's just getting it up and going, not daily management. Then there are the annual tax reports to countries where the sellers are registered and the DMCA notices and the content/abuse reports and the possible cease and desist notices and legal claims about content, policies, procedures, etc...

There's a reason why, in 2019, Patreon only projected that the company may actually start to run in the black. And they started with $2.1 million in venture capital in 2013 - and this was after they paid out $500 million to creators (meaning, at that time, they had earned about $25-30 million in fees).

It's a costly business, with a lot of paperwork of international regulation and compliance -- and requires adequate numbers of staff (staff - one of the reasons why Subscribestar takes forever in responses ---- because they lack the human resources to be more available). Even if you want to be "hands off" - there has to be a paper trail for EVERYTHING, unless you want to be sued into bankruptcy... or even incarcerated for something as "innocent" as tax evasion.

 

[RPDL]

That's only if you wish to use those two.

You must be registered to see the links

The global payments processing market is dominated by two major players: Visa and Mastercard. These two companies account for 90% of all payment processing outside of China and have a combined market value of approximately $850 billion.

There's still that 10% though!