Steam Disaster: Explicit Games Classified as Suitable for Minors

If you ever thought age rating systems made no sense, get ready to read the biggest madness of the week. The Steam store in Indonesia has just suffered a total collapse in its logic thanks to the implementation of the new local rating system (IGRS). The result of automating this process was such a massive disaster that psychological horror games with explicit content ended up being recommended for toddlers who are barely learning to walk.

Forbidden waifus and psychological horror for children

Let’s review the damage because the list is surreal. On one hand, we have Uma Musume Pretty Derby, the popular horse-girl collection game, receiving a strict 18+ rating. On the other hand, major RPG releases like Metaphor: ReFantazio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 were directly flagged as inappropriate for sale and vanished from the map. But the true nightmare arrived when the gaming community noticed that The Song of Saya (one of the most disturbing psychological horror stories in the medium) and the adult visual novel Nukitashi received the "Suitable for ages 3 and up" seal.

All this chaos was caused because Valve's system attempted to comply with new local laws using automated surveys filled out by developers, instead of going through a manual review by the rating board. Basically, they let an algorithm take control of the digital storefront and it backfired spectacularly.

The government intervenes and Steam backtracks

The social media scandal was so massive that Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital had to step in to calm the waters. They clarified that these absurd labels are not the official final decisions of the government and shifted the blame to the PC platform, mentioning that they are still adjusting their systems. They emphasized that protecting consumers and minors is a serious matter that cannot depend on a confused bot.

Fortunately, as of April 6, users reported that Steam is already removing the faulty IGRS labels and returning to standard international ratings while they fix the internal mess. This incident makes it crystal clear the massive danger of blindly depending on automated databases when it comes to regulating content in the video game industry.