Mouthwashing, one of 2024’s most acclaimed horror games, vanished from Itch.io search. Fans thought it was part of the recent NSFW sweep. But Itch.io says it’s been hidden since October.
In a post on Bluesky, Itch.io explained that Mouthwashing broke indexing rules. The developer removed playable files and linked to Steam instead. That got the page de-indexed.
“This game hasn’t been indexed since October 2024… The developer took down any playable files,” the company said.
Still live, but hard to find
The game’s page is still up. If you have the link, you can visit it. But it won’t show up in search. And for small studios, that kills traffic.
Mouthwashing, by Wrong Organ, launched in 2024. It earned massive praise and an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam. Over 28,000 reviews poured in. It mixes PSX-style graphics with intense horror themes.
The page warns about “extreme violence, gore, mutilation, and worse.” But it doesn’t include porn. It’s not sexually explicit.
So, the question is, why was it caught in the chaos?
Crackdown goes too far
Groups like Collective Shout pushed platforms to ban sexual content. That’s hit adult games the hardest. But horror games and mature titles are getting swept up, too.
Payment companies like Mastercard are behind the pressure. To avoid trouble, storefronts are removing anything risky. Many devs say that’s going too far.
The ACLU is now involved. They’re gathering signatures against Mastercard’s content rules. Players and creators are also pushing back.
Mouthwashing isn’t gone, but it’s been made invisible. And that’s part of a much bigger fight over who gets to decide what’s too much.
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