Epic Games strictly prohibits games classified as “Adults Only” (AO) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). However, Epic Games recently announced a change in its publishing policy, allowing certain blockchain-based games that are rated AO to be re-listed on its platform.
The digital game distribution platform, Epic Games Store, owned by the game developer Epic Games, has updated its publishing policy to allow some blockchain and Web3 games to be relisted on the platform, thereby including these games once again.
Previously, Epic Games Store had a blanket ban on all games rated “Adults Only” (AO) by the ESRB. However, the ESRB recently classified Gods Unchained and Striker Manager 3 as AO due to the fact that these games offer the opportunity to win real cash rewards through digital currency incentives. Consequently, these games were temporarily removed from the Epic Games Store.
Nonetheless, on the 20th of this month, Epic Games Store updated its publishing policy, stating that games rated AO solely because of their use of blockchain or NFT technology would not be banned. However, these products must comply with existing blockchain technology and content guidelines, and explicit content, gambling, and hate-related content are prohibited.
As a result, Gods Unchained and Striker Manager 3 have both been able to return to the Epic Games Store platform. Immutable, the developer of Gods Unchained, praised this move on Twitter.
In contrast to Epic Games’ friendly attitude towards blockchain games, Steam has completely banned the listing of blockchain and NFT games on its platform since 2021. Steam founder Gabe Newell explained last year that this decision was made due to the rough state of related applications, numerous scams, and the volatility of cryptocurrency, which made people want to stay away from it.