The game hosting website itch.io is a place where indie developers can upload their varied creations to sell or give away to fans of indie games. The site has amassed a repository of over 100,000 games since its launch in 2013, covering every genre from horror to roguelike to platformer. Not every title is a knockout, but there are many gems to be found on the site, whether they be school projects or passion projects.
One thing itch.io is most known for are the site’s game jams, events where developers are asked to create games that fit a particular theme or subject, often with just a few days to complete their submissions. Current or upcoming jams include Metroidvania Month, Trijam, which challenges developers to create something playable within three hours, and Fear Jam, where the main theme changes to a different phobia every week.
RELATED: Why Apple and Epic Games' Legal Dispute is Happening Inside a Court Room
Shortly before the trial began in the lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple, Epic announced that it would begin carrying Windows apps like Discord, iHeartRadio, and itch.io. On the fifth day of court, Apple’s lawyer pointed out that itch.io hosts games that “are both offensive and sexualized,” with titles “so offensive we cannot speak about them here.” That same day, itch.io created the Unspeakable Jam, a monthlong game jam whose only guideline is that submissions be true games with, as defined by Apple’s lawyer, “a beginning and end. There’s challenges in places.”
The website also joked on Twitter that it would be renaming its “Sensitive Content” section, which often depicts sexuality and other adults-only topics, to “Unspeakable Games.” While itch.io seemed to take the issue lightly, others were not so amused. The website is a place openly favored by many queer developers, who can share games there that would never be published otherwise. The “Sensitive Content” section is also a place where people can publicly share their sexual fetishes or discuss other taboo subjects like abuse or assault.
It is not an unusual step for Apple’s lawyer to highlight the type of content that Epic Games Store will be distributing via its upcoming itch.io app, despite the online storefront itself refusing to sell games with sexual content. The lawyer also pointed out in court that the Epic Games Store’s Top 20 section actually showcases 25 games. These might seem trivial matters and some may question their significance, but they serve to call into question Epic’s credibility and also raise the concern that a finding for Epic will force Apple to indirectly allow such content onto the iPhone.
Epic Games Store’s General Manager Steven Allison, who was being cross-examined at the time, at first demurred when questioned about the concerns raised by a potential itch.io app. Allision later replied more firmly, voicing support for the website and stating that itch.io provides “an incredible community for developers that we support fully. They have an open platform and therefore have different moderation standards than the Epic Games Store.” Allison confirmed that he himself did not personally “support sexualized content of any sort.”
MORE: Itch.io Bundle Earns Over 7 Million for NAACP Legal Defense and Education, Community Bail Fund