Mouthwashing was one of the best games of 2024, “a horror game whose narrative and aesthetics are going to be remembered, celebrated, and emulated” for years to come, as PC Gamer’s Ted Litchfield wrote in his glowing 87% review. And if you’d like to buy it on indie-focused digital marketplace Itch.io, you’re going to have a bit of a problem, because Mouthwashing no longer shows up in searches.
The removal from search results was first reported by Martin Halldin of developer Wrong Organ, who said on Bluesky that he “was kinda waiting for it to happen.” I tested it myself and sure enough, Mouthwashing simply does not show up in search results.
Not surprised, was kinda waiting for it to happen
— @siarate.bsky.social (@siarate.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-28T20:26:39.078Z
This, presumably, is the result of Itch.io’s decision to delist all NSFW games on the platform in response to pressure from credit card companies, which in turn were pressured by a campaign from Australian anti-porn organization Collective Shout.
That campaign was initially sparked by the “non-consensual sex” game No Mercy, which appeared briefly on Steam earlier this year before being removed by its creator following a major outcry over its content.
While it ostensibly targets “rape, incest, and child abuse games on Steam,” Itch.io corrected hard in the face of the potential threat, saying last week that it “had to act urgently to protect the platform’s core payment infrastructure” and ensure game makers on the platform—those whose content didn’t offend decency crusaders in Australia, that is—continue to get paid.
I think it’s fair to say Mouthwashing is adult-oriented, in the sense that it deals with some heavy shit: “There’s nothing supernatural or mysterious about the horror in Mouthwashing, just the brutal fallout of a human drama downstream from—sorry to be that guy—capitalism,” Ted wrote in his review. “It’s a story about how a life without a future makes someone sour, the small joys and overwhelming horror to be found in shit work, and how even the worst circumstances don’t necessarily make one’s actions sympathetic or justified.”
So yeah, mature subject matter as the police procedural pre-rolls put it, and clearly not very pleasant stuff. But the kind of thing that’s going to fall afoul of an anti-porn group? Pretty clearly not, but this is what inevitably happens when big money paints with a broad brush.
Thank you, with the new policy changes caused by Mastercard/Visa it was just a matter of time. Luckily itch isn’t our biggest revenue source but something like this would absolutely screw over smaller creators which makes me furious. Not at itch but at the payment processors pushing these changes
— @siarate.bsky.social (@siarate.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-28T20:26:39.127Z
It’s possible Mouthwashing will eventually return to search results on Itch.io: The platform said that once it has completed a “comprehensive audit of content,” new compliance measures for NSFW pages will be added, although it also warned that some pages will be permanently removed as well. Who determines which games are suitable for adults, and what guidelines will be used to make that determination, has not been publicly shared.
Mouthwashing, for the record, remains available on Itch, you just can’t find it via the search function—you need a direct link. So, here’s a direct link to Mouthwashing on Itch.io. You can also pick it up on Steam, where it currently remains discoverable. I’ve reached out to Wrong Organ and Itch.io for comment and will update if I receive a reply.