Valve refuses to sell FMV pickup artist game Super Seducer 3

The Steam logo
(Image credit: Steam)

Valve has refused to list Super Seducer 3 on its PC storefront, Steam.

The full-motion game was removed from Steam because the store "does not ship sexually explicit images of real people" and felt the current build of the pickup artist game contravened those guidelines.

While Valve does permit a number of sexually-explicit games to be sold on Steam, the issue here seems to be that this one is full-motion video, which is in breach of Steam's terms of service.

"We have finished reviewing your latest build and we aren't going to be able to ship Super Seducer 3 on Steam," Valve reportedly told the developer via email (thanks, PC Gamer). 

"After multiple product resubmissions and product reviews, we feel we are at an impasse and therefore this decision is final. We do not have any additional feedback or details to share beyond what we have provided in previous conversations."

"Steam have BANNED and removed Super Seducer 3 from the store. They will not allow it to be released in any form," tweeted developer Richard La Ruina, including screenshots of the alleged correspondence. "Our page is gone and 61,700 wish lists are gone.  

"Prior to this they told me expect either 'approval or feedback'. We repeatedly said we’d do whatever they needed."

La Ruina reportedly told Valve he was "ready to take a butcher knife to the game and take weeks to make all kind of edits" and expressed surprise that the debate had concluded in removal from the store.

The decision has seemingly not impacted the sale of the prior two installments of the Super Seducer series, as they remain on sale on the PC store.

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Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, 12DOVE

Vikki Blake is 12DOVE's Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.