Overview
- Valve classified Nighthawks as Adults Only on Sunday, September 13, which removed the game from default Steam searches and led to delisting in some countries such as Germany.
- Developer Richard Cobbett and publisher Wadjet Eye Games said the game contains only mild, mostly comedic sexual content and immediately appealed the rating and contacted Valve for a review.
- Valve expedited that appeal and rescinded the Adults Only label on Tuesday, September 15, returning Nighthawks to standard Steam search results and keeping its planned September 22 launch intact.
- Publisher Dave Gilbert said the AO episode was stressful for the small team but also doubled the game's Steam wishlists overnight and generated wider publicity that the developers lacked the resources to produce on their own.
- The case underscores a recurring problem for indie studios because Steam’s AO classification hides games by default, forces age verification and can trigger regional removals, and critics say Valve has not clarified how it applies payment‑processor or adult‑content rules.