Are you a streamer on Twitch, or planning to be at some point? While Twitch is remarkably permissive about what it’ll let you broadcast, there are still some lines that it’s not willing to cross. For those interested in streaming, or just curious as to what is considered “too much,” here is every video game banned on Twitch so far (though we’re sure this is only the beginning).
Every Video Game Banned On Twitch
According to Twitch’s support database, it restricts two kinds of games from broadcast: those that have been rated Adults Only by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, or which violate Twitch’s Community Guidelines regarding “hate speech, sex, nudity, gratuitous gore, or extreme violence.”
There are only a handful of games that fit into the former category. Most software developers have traditionally gone out of their way to avoid getting an AO rating, as a lot of American retailers won’t carry an adult-rated game, and even Steam discouraged explicit adult content on its storefront until relatively recently. Less than 30 video games have ever ended up rated AO, and most of them subsequently revised their content to get their rating dropped down to M. Particular examples include Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which went from M to AO to M again over the course of the “Hot Coffee” controversy; Manhunt 2, which secured an M rating for its American release by putting a bunch of random Photoshop filters over its most violent scenes; and Hatred, the infamously edgy 2015 twin-stick shooter.
That leaves the specific games on Twitch’s banned list, and… well, they’re a special bunch. Banned games have been specifically removed from the game selector on broadcasters’ dashboards, and any broadcaster who’s reported for streaming one of them can expect to receive an account strike and a temporary account suspension.
Four reasons why Negligee, a lesbian-themed visual novel available on Steam, is not suitable for broadcast on Twitch.
The following games are currently listed by Twitch as banned:
- 3DXChat
- Artificial Girl 1, 2, & 3
- Artificial Academy 1 & 2
- Battle Rape
- BMX XXX
- Cobra Club
- Criminal Girls
- Dramatical Murder
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Genital Jousting
- Grezzo 1 & 2
- Harem Party
- House Party
- HunieCam Studio
- HuniePop
- Kamidori Alchemy Meister
- Negligee
- Porno Studio Tycoon
- Purin to Ohuro
- Purino Party
- Radiator 2
- RapeLay
- Rinse and Repeat
- Sakura Angels
- Sakura Beach 1 & 2
- Sakura Dungeon
- Sakura Fantasy
- Sakura Santa
- Sakura Spirit
- Sakura Swim Club
- Second Life
- Suck My Dick or Die!
- The Guy Game
- The Maiden Rape Assault: Violent Semen Inferno
- What’s under your blanket !?
- Witch Trainer
- Yandere Simulator
Twitch is careful on its website to say that this list is “nonexhaustive” and regularly updated. Just because a game isn’t on this list doesn’t necessarily mean that you can stream it without a problem.
That being said, there is a subtle but noticeable theme on this list. Many are porn games, or erotic visual novels; others just happen to feature a lot of incidental nudity, like BMX XXX or Genital Jousting. Second Life is kind of a surprise for half a second, but then you remember that half the reason why Second Life is still around is as a way for its users to make intensely specific pornography.
The two big not-porn standouts are Grezzo 1 & 2, an infamous two-part total conversion mod for Doom that’s a particularly violent anti-Christian fantasy, and Ethnic Cleansing, which is literally white-supremacist agitprop in the form of an old PC shooter.
Notably, Twitch doesn’t usually say what lands a game on this list. Most of these have glaringly obvious points of contention with Twitch’s Community Guidelines, sure, but there have been occasional controversies. The developer of Yandere Simulator, a weird and violent anime parody game that has been in production since before the dawn of civilization, still has no idea what specific content got the game banned four years ago. Yes, it’s about stalking and murdering schoolgirls, which one could understandably find objectionable, but the lack of certitude is an issue. I get it, “YandereDev.”
Even so, if you’re looking to break into the streaming game, you’ll want to avoid making content with any of these titles. The best-case scenario is that no one will notice you doing it.
Check out some of our other news and guides while you’re here, won’t you? We put up stories daily from all across the video game world, including:
- If you suffer from anxiety or stress, this app might help
- Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony is still “on track” to release the PlayStation 5
- We got our first look at Robocop gameplay in Mortal Kombat 11 today
It’s interesting to see just where Twitch’s floor is. The “gratuitous gore” clause in its Community Guidelines does seem like it’s ignored on the reg, but I suppose context matters. Still, if I had to point to one weird thing about all of this, it’s that somebody saw a game called “Violent Semen Inferno” and decided that Twitch would just let that ride. Shake your heads in mute disbelief with us via our official Twitter, @PrimaGames.
