Sakura Studios, the developer of the horror game "Aftermath Z: Red Pine Lake", announced that their game failed to pass Steam review and could not be listed on the store page.Sakura Studio stated that the reason for the rejection was that the "buttocks" in the horizontal version of the picture were too sexy.

This is a multiplayer horror game.The background of the game is set in a summer camp in the 1980s. One player plays the role of the killer, and the other players play the role of camp counselors (staff), trying to survive.The game features a retro synthesizer soundtrack that aims to recreate the nostalgic and creepy atmosphere of 80s horror movies.

The game was announced in July this year, and it was reported at the time that the development team was preparing to launch the Steam store page that month.However, on October 29, Sakura Studio announced that V had rejected its application to launch its Steam store page.The studio explained that the reason was that the game's main visual was considered "too adult" and therefore failed to pass review.

It seems that players’ worries are coming true???So scary

Sakura Studios said that Aftermath Z: Red Pine Lake was marked as "Mature Rated" when it was submitted, indicating that it contains a lot of violence and gore.However, since it is not an "adults only" game, it is not flagged for that genre, but instead is flagged for containing nudity and sexual content, albeit infrequently.

However, the application for this game was rejected because the banner image displayed in the store and the image displayed in the game library contained the main visual image of the game.The key image depicts a woman in a swimsuit standing on a dark lake with her back to the camera.According to the studio's report, it appears that it was the inclusion of this "female butt" part of the design that led to the rejection of the application.

After being rejected, Sakura Studio filed a complaint with the Steam customer service team, claiming that there were other games on the platform that used more sexually suggestive display covers.At the same time, the studio also released a number of screenshots that appear to be communication records with Steam.The reply showed that the Steam customer service team clearly pointed out: "As long as the focus of the image is on the female buttocks, regardless of whether they are clothed or not, it will be considered to be inherently sexual." Therefore, the studio's complaint was ultimately dismissed.

In addition, according to Steam's relevant regulations (please refer to the Steamworks documentation), the standards for display images used on store pages or player libraries are roughly equivalent to the "PG-13" level of movies.Even adult-only works cannot display nudity or overtly sexual content on the cover or in the library.Therefore, even if "Aftermath Z: Red Pine Lake" is submitted to the label as an adult, its cover image will still fail to pass review for the same reason.

Sakura Studio stated that they can choose to re-check all screenshots and marketing materials and submit them for review again; but they do not want to release the game as a "censored version".At the same time, since this game is a multiplayer online game, if the platform is changed, the network architecture must be redone. Therefore, the studio's primary goal at present is to find a suitable platform and publisher.