Nighthawks, the long-in-development vampire RPG due to be released later this month, is the latest game to run afoul of Steam’s increasingly stringent rules regarding adult content. According to publisher Wadjet Eye Games, the game has been labelled ‘Adults Only’—causing it to be removed from Steam search and outright delisted in certain countries like Germany—despite claims from both developer and publisher that the RPG’s depictions of sex and nudity are very mild.
“We are aware that Steam has classified Nighthawks as an adult game and has excluded it from searches,” Wadjet Eye boss Dave Gilbert wrote on Bluesky. “We are working on it. Valve is under the impression that this game is way sexier than it actually is.” Gilbert further commented that “Valve is basically treating Nighthawks like a porn game!” in responding to a reply to his initial post.
A game being labelled Adults Only can affect its visibility in several ways. Adults Only games will not appear in Steam searches by default, requiring users to log in, verify their age (which requires the use of a credit card in some countries) and adjust their preferred content settings before they become visible. In addition, the label can cause games to be delisted outright in certain countries.
You’re either misinformed or are willingly spreading misinformation.
The other reply already explained but I’m going to repeat in my own words again so that you may understand:
Your data is stored on your physical ID card. You create an account on Pornhub. Pornhub then asks you to prove your age. You hold your card against your phone or card reader, provide your PIN and the information that was requested (in our case a pseudonym and a yes/no whether you’re over 18) is transmitted directly from your device to pornhub.
There is no government server (or any third party server for that matter) involved in the process. The only thing the government knows is that they once gave pornhub a certificate to prove to users they really are pornhub.