Game developer and writer ebi-hime recently faced censorship in Russia, with her games being removed from the Russian version of Steam.
Several of ebi-hime’s games were inaccessible to Russian players, including titles featuring cute anime girls falling in love with each other. The Russian government agency Roskomnadzor cited violations of distribution requirements as the reason for the ban.
In exciting news, a bunch of my yuri vns have been banned in Russia on Steam b/c the Russian government hates gay people, & Steam sent me this lovely message telling me this is my fault & I should have done my due diligence by pre-emptively complying with homophobic laws 🙏 pic.twitter.com/g80uLMlMeA
— ✨🦐 ebi 🦐✨ (@ebihimes) May 26, 2026
One concerning aspect is that Steam places the responsibility on developers to be aware of and comply with foreign censorship laws. This could burden indie developers with navigating complex regulations.
Censorship laws vary across countries, making it challenging for developers to navigate different requirements. Pre-emptively complying with every regulation may prove burdensome for indie developers.
Explore all of ebi-hime’s games here.
