Fortune’s Run devs claim Steam rejected their game for not being “explicit” enough
Fortune's RunFortune’s Run was set to go live on Steam, but the devs claim the PC marketplace has shut them down due to their game not being “sufficiently explicit” to have a content warning, despite a scene in the game depicting sexual assault.
The indie development scene has exploded in the last decade or so, with developers having both more tools to create games and more ways to market their own small projects.
PC gaming especially has felt the influence of indie games, with how much easier it is to get games on a marketplace like Steam in comparison to getting a game approved for a console release. However, the devs behind Fortune’s Run claim they’ve hit a roadblock with Steam just days before the release of their game.
According to their statement, Valve rejected their game based on a scene depicting sexual assault not being “sufficiently explicit” to warrant a content warning on the game’s store page.
Fortune’s Run devs slam Steam for rejecting their game
Fortune’s Run is part of the, ironically enough, ever-evolving boomer shooter genre. Within the confines of older game engines and level design inspired by first-person shooters’ progenitors, developers have found ways to stand out and bring modern game design sensibilities to games that look like they came out decades ago.
Those who love this subgenre and like to see the dev’s take on it were excited for the release of Fortune’s Run. Unfortunately for those looking forward to its projected September 27 release date, the game has allegedly been shot down by Steam.
In a lengthy statement, the developers behind the game claimed that they had to provide those testing the game with a console command to allow them to get past the game’s tutorial, because they couldn’t get through it.
While that was cited as an “annoying” roadblock for the devs, they had much bigger gripes with Steam. The devs claimed that their game was shut down for not being “sufficiently explicit” for the sexual content warning on the title.
“Our protagonist’s journey is motivated by a past traumatic event involving sexual assault. For this reason, we chose to disclose both in-game and on the store page that there was mature content, and that the player would be able to opt out of direct references.” the developer explained.
“Direct references include, in the current [early access] build, a sequence where the player views one of their attackers doing the deed from the first person perspective.” The dev then gave players a vague idea of what was depicted in the game before claiming that Valve shut their game down because of the scene… But not for the reason most may think.
“According to Valve, this is not sufficiently explicit to be a reference to sexual assault. So they rejected our build again. Currently we are removing the content warning, which we feel is very wrong. Unfortunately, even doing this, there’s a very good chance the build review will not pass before launch day.”
Gamers who were looking forward to the game are understandably frustrated, but a large portion of those who are disappointed seem to be siding with the devs.
Fortune’s Run devs spark controversy responding to game dev
That said, there are those who are skeptical of Steam’s reasoning and are wondering if there’s a piece of information missing. David Szymanski, the esteemed developer behind Dusk, Iron Lung, Chop Goblins, and many other indie projects, chimed in.
However, Szymanski’s question sparked a response from the developer that has left some reeling.
While many empathized with the Fortune’s Run team for being in a stressful situation, they pushed back on the devs for snapping back at Szymanski.
Dude. I get it. You're so stressed. But this is not the way. I've read all of David's comments on your posts and he's been nothing less than inquisitive to help get to the point. Take a breath.
— Quake Dad (@rubyrangerr) September 26, 2023
Szymanski himself told the dev they need to “log off” after the exchange.
Additionally, some questioned why this scene was so important to leave in and questioned the way the devs referenced sexual assault.
The Fortune’s Run team made their disdain for Valve’s process of approving games clear. Regardless of the question they were asked and whether the user asking it was supporting them or criticizing them, they put much of the blame on Steam’s review system in most of their replies and claimed that it took a week or so of response time to make headway with getting their game on Steam.
Given the level of effort involved in reviewing it, I'm pretty sure if we had full on sex and didn't say anything it would have passed the review with flying colours.
— ䷷ 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘙𝘶𝘯 (@FortunesRun) September 26, 2023
Ultimately, the devs were able to get the game approved for release on Steam, though they had to remove their content warnings to comply with Steam.
The content warning has been transferred to being a screen that warns players ahead of the game, but, considering you’d have to buy the game first to see the content warning, the dev isn’t super happy with that solution.
Though they were able to get Fortune’s Run approved ahead of launch, this whole debacle has left some questioning Steam’s approval process.
