Nintendo Tightens Publishing Rules For Switch 2, Targeting Low-Effort and Adult Content

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Nintendo’s eShop has frequently faced criticism due to its abundance of shovelware – these are low-quality, hastily produced games that are primarily created to capitalize on the platform’s search algorithms for game discovery.

It appears that Nintendo has recently unveiled significant new publishing rules as a means to enhance their eShop prior to the debut of its upcoming console, the Switch 2. According to IGN’s initial report, these modifications took effect on June 5. Some of the changes involve prohibiting games deemed as having low effort and any content that Nintendo deems potentially harmful to its brand reputation.

Previously in the year 2025, Sony enforced content curation guidelines on their PlayStation Store. Similarly, Valve initiated fresh restrictions on their Steam platform as early as this week.

What’s Getting the Axe

Unofficially, the recently implemented guidelines cover a broad spectrum of content that Nintendo considers inappropriate, and this encompasses misleading advertisements, as well as other items.

Furthermore, the updated policy prohibits publishers from repeatedly reorganizing the same games into multiple package deals in order to artificially boost their visibility. Under this new rule by Nintendo, game bundles are restricted to having no more than five titles during a game’s initial year on the market.

Games not adhering to these newly established rules might prompt a flag for necessary adjustments, or could potentially be taken down completely from the system.

What “Low Effort” Means in Practice

Developers report that Nintendo is implementing quality control based on several factors, including insufficient gameplay, technical issues or bugs, deceptive marketing, and misleading store descriptions featuring AI-generated art or standard assets not representative of the real game.

Drawing the Line on Adult and Political Content

The part of Nintendo’s new policy that has sparked the most debate might be their views on explicit content related to sex and politics.

The rules clearly prohibit any content that involves the sexualization of minors, excessively explicit content, anything deemed discriminatory, and adult-oriented material. This seems reasonable.

But also anything considered “exploitative of real-world issues,” or “politically charged.”

Examples provided encompass illustrations promoting hate, materials guiding illegal activities, and even video games blatantly endorsing or denouncing real-life ideologies, groups, nations, or political systems.

It’s intriguing that the rules seem to grant exemptions for classic or well-known games with sensitive subjects, such as Grand Theft Auto, which features violence and adult content, yet remain unmarked. This may be because of their widespread popularity and the perception that they offer more substance as fully developed and refined products.

The guidelines have sparked debates among users regarding the delicate balance between proper moderation and creative freedom restrictions.

To them, prohibiting “political material” could potentially extend to suppressing video games that tackle genuine catastrophes or societal concerns.

In simpler terms, one Redditor said the method reminded them of the Hays Code, an old set of guidelines for movies in Hollywood, which forbade films from depicting Nazis as villains since it was considered disrespectful to a real-world political group.

To clarify, it’s essential to understand that the scenario might not carry as much risk or concern as some individuals perceive. There seems to be a possibility that certain interpretations are overly dramatic, and the likelihood of substantial content suppression appears minimal.

Publishers Already Finding Workarounds

Despite the fresh regulations, certain developers appear to be devising methods to bypass the limitations. For instance, they substitute forbidden words like ‘hentai’ with seemingly harmless, ambiguous phrases such as ‘kawaii’.

It remains unclear if Nintendo will take a more active approach to policing workarounds by manual enforcement, or if they will rely on automated systems for detection. These adjustments might go undetected.

A Step Forward, But More Is Needed

This widespread view is that the system revamp is well past its due time. People believe that these changes will facilitate the highlighting of truly excellent games, especially independent developers who are frequently lost amidst an overwhelming tide of subpar submissions.

Still, users are calling for more tools to help navigate the eShop.

In my perspective, there’s something missing that I really wish were present – essential functions such as filtering content based on genres or arranging items according to user ratings, akin to what Steam offers. These are features that Nintendo enthusiasts have been asking for quite some time now.

Some enthusiasts contend that the Wii U, despite its smaller user community, had a superior system due to its five-star rating system based on actual playtime. This feature aided numerous users in avoiding low-quality games.

Instead, do you believe that the Wii U functionality could be incorporated into the Nintendo Switch, or do you propose a different approach entirely?

Tell us in the comments!

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2025-07-18 17:10