DLsite vs Steam for adult games: how the two stores differ

DLsite and Steam are both stores where adult games are sold, and they are built on opposite assumptions. Steam is a general PC games store in which adult games are a small section that is hidden by default. DLsite is a Japanese store for self-published work in which adult content is a core part of the catalogue. Many games are sold on both.

This page compares them for players deciding where to buy and for developers deciding where to release. It reflects the two stores as of October 2026.

Key points

• Steam is the largest PC games store. It has allowed adult games since 2018 and hides them by default.
• DLsite has sold self-published Japanese games, comics and audio since 1996, in all-ages and adult sections.
• The biggest practical difference is payment: DLsite has not accepted Visa or Mastercard since April 2024.
• Steam removed a set of adult games in July 2025 under pressure from payment processors, and blocks adult-only games in some countries.
• Games made in Japan follow Japanese law on explicit imagery whichever store sells them.
• For developers, the two stores reach different audiences, and releasing on both is common.

The two stores at a glance

What each store is

Steam

Steam is Valve’s store and launcher for PC games, and the largest in the world. It sells everything from the biggest commercial releases to one-person projects. Adult games arrived in 2018, when Valve decided to allow legal games and added content filters so that customers could choose what they see.

Adult games on Steam carry the descriptor “Adult Only Sexual Content”. It is switched off by default, so a new account sees no adult-only games until the owner changes a setting and confirms they are 18. The steps are in how to see adult games on Steam.

DLsite

DLsite began in July 1996 under the name Soft Island and is operated by the Japanese company EISYS. It is a store for self-published work, the kind sold at Japanese fan conventions: games, comics, illustrated stories, voice and audio works, and software.

It has all-ages and adult sections. It reported more than 9 million users worldwide in 2022 and offers its interface in 14 languages, including English. Since November 2021 it has run a programme called Translators Unite, in which volunteer and commissioned translators bring works into other languages.

How each handles adult content

Steam: allowed, with moving limits

Steam’s publishing rules allow adult games that are properly labelled and age-gated. They do not allow sexually explicit images of real people.

In July 2025 Steam added a further rule, against content that “may violate the rules and standards” of its payment processors, card networks and banks, and removed a set of adult games on the same day. Most had incest themes. The rule does not say exactly which content it covers. The full sequence is in the timeline of NSFW games removed from Steam and itch.io.

Steam also reviews every game before release.

DLsite: the core of the store, with pressure from the same direction

Adult work has been central to DLsite from the start. It is not free of pressure, though. In March 2024 creators reported being asked to change the descriptions of their works to satisfy card companies. A month later the card payments stopped, as described below.

Japanese law applies to Japanese games on both

A point that is often misunderstood: the mosaic censoring seen in Japanese adult games is not a store policy. Japanese law, under Article 175 of the Penal Code, restricts the distribution of obscene material, and Japanese producers censor explicit imagery to comply.

A game made in Japan therefore usually carries that censoring on DLsite and on Steam alike. A game made outside Japan is not bound by Japanese law when sold on Steam. If it is sold on DLsite, it has to meet DLsite’s own rules.

Some games are sold on Steam in an all-ages edition, with the adult content offered separately. Read the store page to see which edition you are buying.

Payments

This is the largest practical difference for a buyer.

Steam accepts the major international cards and a range of local payment methods.

DLsite lost most of its card payments in 2024. In April 2024 EISYS announced that its platforms had suspended payments by Visa, Mastercard and American Express. According to Automaton, JCB, a Japanese card brand, was by late 2025 the only card brand still supported on the site.

DLsite has responded by building its own routes around the card networks.

• 6 October 2025: it launched a payment method linked to accounts at the Japanese digital bank Minna no Ginko, which lets customers pay directly from a bank account. Automaton noted that the bank does not open accounts from overseas, so this option is for customers in Japan.
• 19 December 2025: the group behind DLsite announced its own JCB-branded credit card.

For a buyer outside Japan, the practical step is to open the checkout page and see which methods are offered in your country before you decide where to buy.

Regional blocks

Steam restricts adult-only games in some countries. The clearest example is Germany. In December 2020 Steam blocked adult-only games there, reportedly because German law requires stronger age verification than a date-of-birth prompt. Customers in Germany saw a notice that the content was not available in their country.

A game that is on Steam is not necessarily on Steam everywhere.

Refunds and support

Steam’s refund policy is one of its main advantages for buyers: a game can be refunded if the request is made within 14 days of purchase and the game has been played for less than two hours.

DLsite’s terms are its own. Read its refund terms before buying, particularly for a game you cannot try first.

Is DLsite safe?

Yes. DLsite is a legitimate, long-established store. It has operated for thirty years and is one of the main places Japanese independent creators sell their work.

The risk is imitation. Sites with similar names appear in search results and are not DLsite. Use the store’s real address, dlsite.com, and do not enter payment details on a lookalike. How to check any store before buying is covered in are adult game stores safe?

For developers: which to release on

The two stores are not really competitors. They reach different people.

Costs differ in shape. Steam charges a fee of $100 per game and takes 30 per cent of sales as standard. DLsite takes a commission that varies with the price of the work.

Three further points apply to both.

• Each store reviews what it sells. Approval on one does not imply approval on the other.
• Payment rules sit behind both. The same card-network standards that led Steam to remove games in 2025 are the reason DLsite lost its card payments in 2024. They are explained in how payment processors decide which adult games can exist.
• Do not depend on one store. Both changed their handling of adult content between 2024 and 2026. A website and a mailing list of your own are the only channel no store controls.

All the main options, including itch.io, Nutaku and membership platforms, are compared in where adult games can be sold.

Which should a player use?

• Use Steam if you want one library, easy refunds and ordinary card payments, and the game you want is sold there.
• Use DLsite if the game is only sold there, if you want the wider catalogue of Japanese independent work, and if one of its payment methods works for you.
• Check both when a game is on each. Editions, languages and included content can differ, and the store page is the place that says so.