The ESRB has started slapping blockchain games with Adults Only ratings, so Epic has changed its store policy to allow them

[Gamernyc78]

The ESRB has started slapping blockchain games with Adults Only ratings, so Epic has changed its store policy to allow them

Porn games are still forbidden, but games that get an AO rating specifically because they use blockchain tech will be allowed on the storefront.

www.pcgamer.com

The ESRB's Adults Only rating used to be the kiss of death: Major retailers refused to touch any AO-rated videogame, and back in the days when games were distributed through retail channels, developers would do just about anything to avoid it. The advent of digital distribution has relieved some of that pressure: It's still tough on the console side as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo continue to forbid AO content on their storefronts, but if you're a PC developer you can pretty much do what you want.

But the ESRB's AO rating left at least some blockchain developers caught in an unexpected pincer of conflicting policies: Steam doesn't allow blockchain games, and Epic refuses to carry AO games—except, now, for games that were rated that way because of their blockchain implementation.

"Some blockchain-based games are receiving Adults Only (AO) ratings from industry ratings bodies for their particular implementation of blockchain," Epic Games said in a statement. "We’ve updated our Epic Games Store content policy to allow for games that are rated AO solely due to the usage of blockchain or NFT technology.

"Our other policies rejecting prohibited content such as porn, gambling, and hateful content remain in place across the Epic Games Store."

 

[Nhomnhom]

Epic is just detestable.

 

[John Elden Ring]

Source

The Epic Games Store has made an exception for games rated Adults Only; it only applies to titles that use blockchain technology.


The update still notes that these games must comply with its blockchain and general guidelines. Games, for example, cannot facilitate gambling and link to NFT marketplaces.


Epic's updated policy also resulted in it re-listing Gods Unchained and Striker Manager 3.


In 2021, Epic welcomed blockchain and NFT titles as Steam was banning them.


CEO Time Sweeney said on social media at the time, "As a technology, the blockchain is just a distributed transactional database with a decentralized business model that incentivizes investment in hardware to expand the database's capacity. This has utility whether or not a particular use of it succeeds or fails."

 

[nongkris]

Usually I like to take Epic's side but lol. Steam allows porn games while Epic allows blockchain scams. I know which one I'd prefer.

 

[flaccidsnake]

Tim Sweeney is a nauseating person.

 

[Gamernyc78]

Source

Already posted elsewhere.

 

[Zzero]

Why do blockchain games get AO but gatcha games and "built to fail" shit like Diablo Immortal not? I *blechh* agree with the Epic Game Store. Ugh, feels dirty even saying it.