Wadjet Eye Games has confirmed that Nighthawks, the long-in-development vampire RPG from creator Richard Cobbett, has been pulled from Steam search results and outright delisted in several countries after Valve classified it as Adults Only. The game was set to launch on September 22, making the timing about as bad as it gets for a small indie studio.
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What the Adults Only label actually does to a game
Getting tagged Adults Only on Steam is not a minor inconvenience. By default, games with that classification disappear from Steam search entirely. Players who want to find them need to log in, verify their age (which in some countries requires a credit card), and manually change their content settings. On top of that, the label triggers automatic delisting in certain countries with stricter content regulations, including Germany.
For a game launching in under two weeks, losing visibility in major European markets is a serious commercial blow. Publisher Wadjet Eye Games boss Dave Gilbert addressed the situation directly on Bluesky: "We are working on it. Valve is under the impression that this game is way sexier than it actually is." He followed up in a reply by saying "Valve is basically treating Nighthawks like a porn game!"
What the developer says is actually in the game
Here's the thing: the dev's description of the content in question does not sound like anything close to what an Adults Only classification is designed to flag. Cobbett described the mature content as "a few butt shots and some other censored naughty bits, mostly as part of companion romances," adding that sex scenes typically consist of a "fun date type adventure" that ends with a "tasteful fade to black followed by 'Ten minutes later.'" He drew a direct comparison to mainstream television, saying the content is "far less explicit than anything you'd see on HBO."
Cobbett's summary of the situation was blunt: "It's very bad news for us, because it immediately makes the game persona non grata in several important countries like Germany. We're not sure exactly what triggered the issue, but we've obviously contacted Valve and we're hoping that they will quickly remove the scarlet letter."
A pattern that keeps repeating on Steam
Nighthawks is not the first game to get caught in this situation. In July, the indie adventure Future? No Thanks! was delayed at the last minute while Valve reviewed what the developer described as "dozens of untextured polygons depicting ass and boobs." That review eventually concluded in the developer's favour, and the game released on September 4. The pattern here is consistent: small indie studios, content that sits in a gray zone, and a review process that can take weeks with no clear timeline.
The key here is that Valve's own documentation does not draw a clear line between "mature" and "Adults Only" content. Developers are expected to make that call themselves during the submission process, which creates obvious room for disagreement when Valve's own review team arrives at a different conclusion. A rule added last year further muddied the waters by prohibiting content that may conflict with the standards of Steam's payment processors, without specifying what that content looks like in practice.
What this means for players waiting on Nighthawks
If you're in Germany or another country where the game has been delisted, you currently cannot purchase or wishlist Nighthawks on Steam at all. If you're in a country where it remains available, you'll need to have adult content enabled in your Steam settings to find it through search.
Cobbett and Wadjet Eye say they've contacted Valve and are hoping for a fast resolution. The September 22 launch date has not been officially changed, but a week is a short window to resolve a platform-level classification dispute. The comparison Cobbett offered is worth keeping in mind: "If you're not scandalised by the likes of Dragon Age, you're really not going to get too hot and bothered here either."
Valve has not publicly responded to the situation. If you want to stay on top of similar stories about games navigating platform policies, the gaming guides section at GAMES.GG covers the broader ecosystem worth tracking.
