Valve has reversed its decision to apply an 'adults only' rating to the upcoming narrative RPG Nighthawks. The reconsideration means the game will now appear in standard Steam searches and will not be blocked from sale in certain regions.
Dave Gilbert, head of publisher Wadjet Eye Games, expressed relief on Bluesky, thanking supporters for their help. "Phew. What a roller coaster," he wrote. "Thank you everyone for your amazing support while we got this sorted. If you weren't able to wishlist before, now you can!"
Previously, the adult rating required users to be logged in and have their accounts configured to display AO-rated games to see Nighthawks. The game now appears in searches even for users who are not logged in.
Richard Cobbett, Nighthawks developer and former PC Gamer contributor, also shared his relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Now I can get back to only stressing over people actually liking it!" he posted on Bluesky.
The situation surrounding the initial rating was puzzling. Nighthawks, which centers on life as a newly turned vampire in a world aware of their existence, began as a Kickstarter project in 2018. Its description highlighted depth, complexity, storytelling, and hand-drawn art, with no explicit mention of sexual content.
The Nighthawks Steam page similarly depicts a mature game with some suggestive themes, fitting for its vampire premise, but not overtly explicit content. Cobbett indicated that while the game is mature and vampires are inherently associated with certain themes, the explicit content related to nudity and sex is mild and often comedic, and far less explicit than what might be seen on television.
Valve provided no clear explanation for the initial rating, nor for its reversal, according to Gilbert. He did state, however, that Valve was “very helpful in expediting the review on my appeal so we could get the AO rating dropped and the game itself approved for release.” Gilbert added that despite the stress of the situation, which he described as a "net positive" overall, the game's wishlists on Steam