Molleindustria's open-world satire, Future? No Thanks!, continues to be inaccessible to a significant portion of Steam users due to Valve's content moderation policies, even after the removal of a "sex quest." The game, which features "mild nudity" and "racy encounters," has been classified by Steam in a way that renders its page unviewable without age verification for many, and completely geo-locked in Germany.
Paolo Pedercini, the creator behind Molleindustria, stated on Bluesky that Steam misclassifies the game as pornography. This is despite Future? No Thanks! holding ratings such as USK 16, ERSB 12, and PEGI 12. Pedercini reported that Valve's content moderators had previously requested a build with a "skip to sex scene button." He further elaborated that Steam's classification preemptively bans the game rather than adhering to German law, specifically the USK rating. This situation has caused significant frustration, with Pedercini describing it as the "most humiliating and surreal experience in 20+ years of game making."
Adding to the surreal nature of the situation, Pedercini shared an image of Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current president of Germany, posing at a booth for Future? No Thanks! during Gamescom in Cologne. This occurred while the game was simultaneously considered too pornographic by Steam to be accessible in Germany. Pedercini has expressed a desire to connect with someone at Valve to understand the ongoing classification issues.
This predicament highlights broader challenges for developers in navigating Steam's approval process, particularly for games that push satirical or mature themes. Even as contemporary titles like Grand Theft Auto VI generate headlines for their explicit content, smaller independent games with less explicit material face significant hurdles in reaching their audience on the platform. Valve has been contacted for comment regarding the game's current Steam rating and the potential for administrative delays.