It frustrates me that Itch has taken the nuclear option, claiming to "protect" for an age demographic that doesn't even take up a significant traction for the demographic they're even "protecting". The majority of the users of this site are over the ages of 18 with around 70% of the demographic being identified as men, 28% being women and the other 2% of being others. Taking the nuclear route without warning, unsure on how to even moderate the new guidelines they set for themselves, and all in the name to "protect" a demographic that doesn't even register a significant traction for the targeted age demographic, is akin to using a shotgun just because there's a roach.
Itch is already a niche site, advertising itself as a platform primarily for indies, while yes there are games in the site that appeal to the younger demographic, the majority, nearly all, of the age demographic of the site are young to middle aged adults. You will find very little children going to this site when they have better alternatives appealing and advertising to them specifically like Roblox (the largest share), Minecraft and Fortnite; why go to Itch when they have these games? Games that are not only more popular with children, but directly appealing to and advertised for their specific demographic. Itch is a niche site that offers great visibility for indies, however, it is not a site directly for or advertised for children or a specific age demographic, it is a site for developers and gamers, and Itch has lost the plot without even forewarning to the creators that built this site.
The existence of NSFW games has little impact to the site's reputation as a platform for indies, yet by doing what Itch has done, they have nuked their own reputation and trust to the very indies they appeal to. For the adults that complain about NSFW, NSFW as a tag is something that has and was always shadow banned from the site itself. Tags like "adult", "erotic", "NSFW", and so forth are tags that have and never been visible when searching in the tags section of the site. The user themselves would only be able to see or view such NSFW games only if they actively search for them in the tags section of finding/browsing games. Furthermore, by default, users cannot search for NSFW or adults in the browsing section of the site unless specifically check marked; I have been in this site since 2021 and not once have I modified my user settings so I have never been exposed to NSFW games unless I specifically search for them via direct link or by specifically searching for the NSFW/Adult tag. You are responsible for your actions and decisions, stop allowing yourself to be nannied and babied when you are an adult; take responsibility and have some self-respect to your own self to be able to make your own decisions. If you, an adult, cannot even give yourself self-responsibility for the content you choose to consume, then the only ones at fault is your own, not the site nor the fault of any other people.
I really hope Itch backtracks their decisions and repeals what they have done, while yes I agree that there must be some level of moderation for the site, illegal (actual CP) or explicitly harmful materials (games that call for real violence or extremes) were and have always been moderated out of the site and by doing what they have done is not only harmful as their majority age demographic would shift away from the site to alternatives as a result (like what happened to Tumblr, a similar route that Itch is now taking) but also condescending and sets a dangerous precedent for external parties managing and policing the site despite not the site not being a publicly traded company as it now enables larger corporations operating in financing to have a hold of privately held sites and companies. However, I fear that this site will go the Tumblr route, while Itch.io would still exist, users will be less willing to spend their time and money and creators would be less trusting to Itch itself, but only time will tell the future direction of this site.