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Sexual content In media discourse, sexual content is material depicting Human sexual activity, sexual behavior. The sexual behavior involved may be Pornography, explicit, implicit sexual behavior such as flirting, or include sexual language and euphemisms. Sexu ...
has been found in
video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
since the early days of the
industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...
, and games featuring sexual content can be found on most platforms and can be of any
video game genre A video game genre is an informal classification of a video game based on how it is played rather than Computer graphics, visual or narrative elements. This is independent of setting (fiction), setting, unlike works of fiction that are expressed ...
. The inclusion of sex in games has been subject to varying levels of controversy over the decades, sometimes resulting in calls for increased
regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
and legislation dealing directly with adult content. In Western gaming, the promise of sexual content in games is commonly used as a marketing tool, but many highly sexualized games do not feature any explicitly adult content. Though some games do use sex acts or
nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...
as a
narrative device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelie ...
, in-game reward, or a gameplay element, purely pornographic games are uncommon. However, the
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese pornographic
eroge An ''eroge'' (, ''eroge'', or , ''erogē'', ), also called an H-game, is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. The term encompasses a wide variety of Japanese games containing erotic content across multiple genres. The first ''eroge'' were crea ...
subgenre is popular worldwide. First appearing in the 1980s, these games vary significantly in narrative complexity as well as the level of
interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but ...
, taking forms ranging from the
visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
to
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
experiences.


History


1980s

One of the earliest video games to feature sexual themes was the 1981
text-based In computing, text-based user interfaces (TUI) (alternately terminal user interfaces, to reflect a dependence upon the properties of computer terminals and not just text), is a retronym describing a type of user interface (UI) common as an ear ...
'' Softporn Adventure'', published by
On-Line Systems Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is ...
for the
Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...
. Despite heavy piracy, the game still sold 25,000 copies, roughly equivalent to 25% of the number of Apple II computers sold at the time. In a 1981 article in ''Time (magazine), Time'', On-Line reported that they were making a version of the game for straight women, though this never materialized. Several pornographic games, such as ''X-Man (video game), X-Man,'' were created for the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...
in the early 1980s. The video game company,
American Multiple Industries American Multiple Industries, doing business as Mystique, was a company that produced a line of pornographic video games for the Atari 2600 called ''Mystique Presents Swedish Erotica'', which included the games '' Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em'', ''Bachelor ...
, released three unlicensed games for the Atari 2600; ''
Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em ''Beat 'Em and Eat 'Em'' is a pornographic video game for the Atari 2600 made by American Multiple Industries in 1982. Players control two nude women; the goal is to catch semen in their mouths, which is falling from a masturbating man on a roof ...
'', ''
Custer's Revenge ''Custer's Revenge'' (also known as ''Mystique Presents Swedish Erotica: Custer's Revenge'') is an adult action game published by American Multiple Industries for the Atari 2600, first released in November 1982. The game gained notoriety owing t ...
'', and ''
Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...
''. The games were poorly received (particularly ''Custer's Revenge,'' which is considered to be one of the worst games ever made), and AMI went out of business in 1983. Company
PlayAround PlayAround was an American video game developer founded by Joel H. Martin, co-founder of American Multiple Industries, the first distinctly pornographic video game company. PlayAround purchased the rights to American Multiple Industries's titles ...
purchased the rights to these games and began distributing them under new titles in 2-in-1 cartridges. In 1983, Entertainment Enterprises, Ltd. released an arcade game called ''Swinging Singles,'' which was mostly meant for bars, adult stores, and
sex club Sex clubs, also known as swinger clubs or lifestyle clubs, are formal or informal groups that organize sex-related activities, or establishments where patrons can engage in sex acts with other patrons. A sex club or swinger club differs from a br ...
s. The game requires the player to drive through the city maze, gathering dots like ''
Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...
'' before reaching a
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
where the player is required to fight off
venereal disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...
and collect keys to unlock sex scenes. Also released in 1983 was ''Strip Poker: A Sizzling Game of Chance'' for the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
and other 8-bit platforms, which
Artworx Artworx was a Naples, Florida software company that produced and supported a line of video games ( specializing in poker and other card games) from 1981 to 2015. It is named after the founder's given name A given name (also known as a fore ...
Software created. In 1986,
Martech Martech was a video game publisher which operated in Pevensey Bay between 1982 and 1989. It was founded as Martech Games. The company published a number of successful video games for the BBC Micro, BBC Model B, ZX Spectrum, ZX81, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ...
released a
strip poker Strip games or stripping games are games which have clothing removal as a gameplay element or mechanic. Classification There are two broad categories of these games: the first are sexualized, and getting other people to remove their clothes ...
game featuring digitized pictures of
Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from Crouch End in North London. She has appeared on reality television shows and has occasionally worked as a television presenter and actress. Fox beg ...
on the C64,
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
, and
Amstrad Amstrad plc was a British consumer electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar. During the 1980s, the company was known for its Home computer, home computers beginning with the Amstrad CPC and later also the ZX Spectrum range after the ...
. The same company would later release the controversial ''
Vixen Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
'', featuring another page 3 model
Corinne Russell Corinne Russell (born 22 November 1963) is an English former Page 3 girl, glamour model and dancer during the 1980s. Modelling career Russell made her Page 3 debut in ''The Sun'' on 23 August 1982, and first appearing in the '' Daily Star'' ...
. Also, in 1986 On-line Systems (now called
Sierra On-Line Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game ge ...
) asked
game design Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...
er
Al Lowe Albert William Lowe (born July 24, 1946) is an American video game designer who developed several adventure games, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He created the '' Leisure Suit Larry'' series. He has also worked as a casting director, voice director ...
to create an adult game in the graphical adventure style made popular by their ''
King's Quest ''King's Quest'' is a graphic adventure game series, released between 1980 and 2016 and created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following ...
'' series. Lowe took the basic elements of ''Softporn Adventure'', greatly expanded it, and released it as the 1987 game '' Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards''. Sierra did not advertise the game, and retailers were loath to carry it, so initial sales were low. However,
word-of-mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
spread, and soon the ''
Leisure Suit Larry ''Leisure Suit Larry'' is an adult-themed sex comedy video game series created by Al Lowe. Drawing inspiration from '' Softporn Adventure'', the ''Leisure Suit Larry'' series centers on Larry Laffer—a middle-aged man known for his balding ...
'' series was a success, spawning two sequels before the end of the decade, 1988's ''
Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places) ''Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)'' is the second game in the ''Leisure Suit Larry'' series of graphical adventure games, designed by Al Lowe and published by Sierra On-Line in 1988. Like its predecessor, '' L ...
'', and 1989's '' Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals''.


1990s

With
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
and multimedia-based games in the 1990s, most adult games featured video clips with limited interactivity. Both pre-rendered and real-time
3D graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of perfor ...
were also used. While most games could be considered nothing more than
pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
, some attempted to include actual stories and plots. This can be seen in some games with less explicit content, equal to an R-rated or
PG-13 The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...
-rated movie. 1990 saw the release of the first game in the ''
Gals Panic is a series of Japanese eroge (adult video games) by Kaneko for the Arcade game, arcades. The gameplay in the ''Gals Panic'' series is similar to Taito's classic puzzle game ''Qix''; the objective is to control a marker on a board and uncover ba ...
'' series. The game derived gameplay elements from an older title called ''
Qix ( ) is a 1981 puzzle video game developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer and published in arcades by Taito, Taito America. ''Qix'' is one of a handful of games made by Taito's American division (another is ''Zoo Keeper (1983 v ...
'', which did not have sexual images. The object of the games is to slowly remove pieces of the playing field while avoiding an enemy or groups of enemies. Removing the playing field slowly reveals pictures of
models A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided int ...
in escalating states of undress. The game had nine sequels throughout the 1990s (with a final game in 2002). ''
Voyeur Voyeurism is the Sexual attraction, sexual interest in or Human sexual activity, practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. ...
'' by Philips came out in 1993 for their
CD-i The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a digital optical disc data storage format as well as a hardware platform, co-developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips and Japanese company Sony. It was created as an extension of CDDA ...
console. While the game does not show any explicit nudity, it allows the player to spy on several characters in
lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
, and
foreplay Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
and explores taboos such as
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
and
incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
. In the 1990s,
NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
(on the
PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation, it launched ...
series and
PC-FX The is a 32-bit home video game console co-developed by NEC and Hudson Soft. Released in December 1994, it is based on the NEC V810 CPU and CD-ROM, and was intended as the successor to the PC Engine (known overseas as the TurboGrafx-16). Unlik ...
) and
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
(on
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
) were the only companies who officially allowed sexual content on their consoles in Japan, but eroge was more prevalent on the NEC
PC-98 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or simply , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit Personal computer, personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2003. While based on Intel processors, it uses an in-house architecture making it inc ...
and
FM Towns The is a Japanese personal computer built by Fujitsu from 1989 to 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with IBM PC compatibles. In 1993, the FM Towns ...
computer platforms.


2000s

Modern console publishers often have policies against depictions of nudity and explicit sexuality, particularly
Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...
with its
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
brand of consoles. ''
BMX XXX ''BMX XXX'' is a 2002 sports video game developed by Z-Axis and published by Acclaim Entertainment under their AKA Acclaim label for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube. While primarily a BMX-based action sports title, the game places ...
'' for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
was censored in the American release, while versions on the
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
and
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
were not and featured nudity. However, Sony allowed nudity in the title ''
God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheism, polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their ...
'' (2005), and also developed by Sony, a game based on
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
set in
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
, where nudity was perceived differently. Nudity was subsequently featured in the game's sequels, ''
God of War II ''God of War II'' is a 2007 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). First released for the PlayStation 2 on March 13, 2007, the game is the second installment in the ''God of ...
'' (2007), '' God of War: Chains of Olympus'' (2008), ''
God of War III ''God of War III'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth installment in the ''God of War'' serie ...
'' (2010), '' God of War: Ghost of Sparta'' (2010), and '' God of War: Ascension'' (2013), which were also based on Greek mythology. The
full-motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...
quiz game ''
The Guy Game ''The Guy Game'' is a 2004 adult video game developed by Topheavy Studios and published by Gathering for Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Presented in a trivia gameshow style, it allows up to four players to compete by completing multiple ch ...
'' (2004) gained notoriety for its use of an underage model. The scenes in question led to a lawsuit by a woman who explained that she was only seventeen years old when the footage was taken, thus classifying it as
child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
, which is illegal to own or sell in some countries. Sex scenes and nudity have also appeared in
Quantic Dream Quantic Dream SA is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. Founded in 1997, the company has developed five video games: '' The Nomad Soul'' (1999), ''Fahrenheit'' (2005), '' Heavy Rain'' (2010), '' Beyond: Two Souls'' (201 ...
's ''
Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a scale of temperature, temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accou ...
'' and ''
Heavy Rain ''Heavy Rain'' is a 2010 action-adventure video game developed by Quantic Dream and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. A port to the PlayStation 4 was released in 2016 while a port to Windows published by Quantic ...
'', released for the PlayStation 2 and
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
respectively. Sexuality and sexual frustration is also a theme prevalent in the ''
Silent Hill is a horror media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four main games—'' Silent Hill'', '' Silent Hill 2'', '' Silent Hill 3'', and '' Silent Hill 4: The ...
'' series of survival-horror games. A new generation of adult social games has emerged that bring multiple users together in sexual environments. Examples include ''
Red Light Center Red Light Center (RLC) is an online virtual world was made available to the public in 2005 by Utherverse Inc. Its tag line is "EXPAND Your Fantasy". Red Light Center is modeled after Amsterdam's Red-light district, Red Light District. The online ...
, Singles: Flirt Up Your Life'' and '' Playboy: The Mansion''. While it is not explicitly intended for purely adult-oriented entertainment, the virtual world of ''
Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...
'', which is made up almost entirely of player-made content, has an array of very exotic adult entertainment including nudity and full-on sexual activities. Adult games may take the form of bootlegs, circumventing mainstream publishers who may have policies against such games. Patches or
hacks Hacks may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Hacks'' (1997 film), a 1997 American comedy film * ''Hacks'' (2002 film), a 2002 independent American film * ''Hacks'' (2012 film), a 2012 British telemovie starring Michael Kitchen * '' ...
to mainstream non-adult games may add sexual and pornographic themes, mostly for
humor Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...
, especially when sexuality was never intended in the original game. Examples include the ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...
'' video games, the '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''
Hot Coffee mod "Hot Coffee" is the unofficial name for a minigame in the 2004 action-adventure video game ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' by Rockstar Games. While it was not playable in the official game release, the Video game modding, modding community di ...
, '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'', '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'', and the ''
Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It was published for Windows on Valve's digital distribution service, Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' is played ent ...
'' FakeFactory Cinematic
mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US * ...
and
ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
hacks for console
emulator In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run sof ...
s. The Internet has allowed adult games to receive wider availability and recognition, including amateur games in
Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a mostly discontinuedAlthough it is discontinued by Adobe Inc., for the Chinese market it is developed by Zhongcheng and for the international enterprise market it is developed by Ha ...
or Java. It has also allowed amateurs to create and distribute adult text adventure games, known as "Adult Interactive Fiction" or AIF. Modern consumer
virtual reality headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a Head-mounted display, head-mounted device that uses 3D near-eye displays and positional tracking to provide a virtual reality environment for the user. VR headsets are widely used with Virtual reali ...
s, such as the
Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets, virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality indust ...
and
HTC Vive HTC Vive is a line of Virtual reality, virtual and mixed reality Virtual reality headset, headsets produced by HTC, HTC Corporation. The brand currently encompasses headsets designed for use with Personal computer, personal computers as well a ...
, allow users to engage in
virtual sex Virtual sex is Human sexual activity, sexual activity where two or more people (or one person and a Virtual actor, virtual character) gather together via some form of communications equipment to arouse each other, often by the means of transmitting ...
through simulated environments. An example is ''
VR Kanojo is a virtual reality (VR) eroge social simulation video game made by Illusion, released in February 2017 for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift on Microsoft Windows PCs. ''VR Kanojo'' is the successor to Illusion's 2010 game ''REAL Kanojo'', and fo ...
''.


2010s

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...
's 2016 game ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' (abbreviated as OW) is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' was released in 2016 with a success ...
'' has inspired a notable amount of fan-made porn. Short porn videos featuring official characters have been animated via
Source Filmmaker Source Filmmaker (often abbreviated as SFM) is a free 3D computer graphics software tool published by Valve for creating animated films, which uses the Source game engine. Source Filmmaker has been used to create many community-based animated ...
and are popular on porn sites such as
Pornhub Pornhub is a Canadian-owned Internet pornography video-sharing website, one of several owned by adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo. , Pornhub is the 16th- most-visited website in the world and the most-visited adult website. The site al ...
. Despite its popularity, Blizzard has issued
cease-and-desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the other ...
orders to some of the creators.
Indie games An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large Video game publisher, game publisher, in contrast to ...
have expanded the reach of adult games, and
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
now allows adult games onto its storefront.
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...
provides direct funding to adult developers, allowing games like ''
Summertime Saga ''Summertime Saga'' is an sexual content in video games, adult visual novel being published by The Epic Seasonal, developed by Kompas Productions and run by pseudonymous developer DarkCookie. Its first public release was in August 2016 as a crowd ...
'' and ''
Hardcoded Hard coding (also hard-coding or hardcoding) is the software development practice of embedding data directly into the source code of a program or other executable object, as opposed to obtaining the data from external sources or generating it a ...
'' to appeal to niche markets that previously would not have been created. The continuing rise of
open-source software Open-source software (OSS) is Software, computer software that is released under a Open-source license, license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and Software distribution, distribute the software an ...
development practices has also influenced adult video games, allowing communities of amateurs to collaboratively create and distribute adult games via the Internet.


2020s

Eek Games' ''
House Party A house party is a type of party held at the home of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, word of mouth, pos ...
'' has scenes of nudity and sexual encounters. The game officially released on digital distribution platforms for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
with leaving early access on July 15, 2022.


Eroge

Eroge is a Japanese style adult erotic game. In 1982, Japan's
Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based o ...
, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and
Keiko Erikawa Keiko Erikawa is a Japanese businesswoman and video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, ...
(and later known for
strategy video game Strategy video game is a major Video game genres, video game genre that focuses on analyzing and strategizing over direct quick reaction in order to secure success. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, the strategy ...
s), released the first erotic computer game with sexually explicit graphics, ''
Night Life Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, Bar (establishment), bars, nightclubs, party, parties, live music, conc ...
'',Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier
Hardcore Gaming 101, reprinted from ''
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...
'', Issue 67, 2009
an early
graphic adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based ...
for the
NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japane ...
. That same year, Koei released another erotic title, ''Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku'' (''Seduction of the Condominium Wife''), which was an early
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
with colour graphics, owing to the eight-color palette of the
NEC PC-8001 The is a line of personal computers developed for the Japanese market by NEC. The PC-8001 model was also sold in the United States and Canada as the PC-8001A. Original models of the NEC PC-8001B (or sometimes the NEC PC-8000) were also sold in ...
computer. It became a hit, helping Koei become a major software company. In another opinion,
Yuji Horii is a Japanese author, video game designer, writer and director best known as the creator of the ''Dragon Quest'' franchise, supervising and writing the scenario for ''Chrono Trigger'', and '' The Portopia Serial Murder Case'', released in 1983 ...
recalled in 1986 that he saw a demonstration of a
Yakyūken is a Japanese game based on rock–paper–scissors. Three players compete. The host cries out "Play ball". The contestants dance to music played on the shamisen and taiko. The host chants "Runner ni nattara essassa." ("Hope the batter gets t ...
-like game running on the
FM-8 The FM-8 (Fujitsu Micro 8) is a personal computer developed and manufactured by Fujitsu in May 1981. It was Fujitsu's second microcomputer released to the public after the LKIT-8 kit computer, and the first in the "FM" series. The FM-8 was an e ...
in the end of
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
, and he considered Yakyūken was the origin of adult games. Some writers say that ''
Yakyūken is a Japanese game based on rock–paper–scissors. Three players compete. The host cries out "Play ball". The contestants dance to music played on the shamisen and taiko. The host chants "Runner ni nattara essassa." ("Hope the batter gets t ...
'' (1981) produced for
Sharp MZ The Sharp MZ is a series of personal computers sold in Japan and Europe (particularly Germany and Great Britain) by Sharp Corporation, Sharp beginning in 1978. History Although commonly believed to stand for "Microcomputer Zilog Z80, Z80", t ...
computers by
Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company known for releasing numerous titles across video game consoles, home computers, and mobile phones. Headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo, it also maintained an office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. F ...
is the first Japanese adult game. Like with Koei, several other now-famous Japanese companies such as
Enix was a Japanese multimedia publisher who handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting t ...
,
Square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
and
Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and '' Trails'' series. They are credited with pioneering the action role-playing and Japanese role-playing game genres, as well as popularizing the u ...
also released erotic adult games for the
PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the four major Japanes ...
computer in the early 1980s before they became mainstream. Early eroge usually had simplistic stories and extreme sexual content, such as
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
and
lolicon In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media which focuses on young or young-looking girl characters, particularly in a sexually suggestive or erotic manner. The term, a portmanteau of the English-language phrase " Lolita co ...
. In some of the early erotic games, the erotic content is meaningfully integrated into a thoughtful and mature storyline, though others often used it as simply an excuse for pornography. In 1999, Key released ''
Kanon Kanon may refer to: Media and literature * ''Kanon'' (video game), a Japanese visual novel by Key, later adapted into anime series * ''Kanon'' (manga), a manga by Chiho Saito * ''Daimajin Kanon'', a Japanese tokusatsu television drama * '' Der K ...
''. It contains about 7 brief erotic scenes in a sentimental story the size of a long novel (an all-ages version was also released afterward). ''Kanon'' sold over 300,000 copies. In response to increasing pressure from Japanese
lobby group Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...
s, in mid-1996 Sega of Japan announced that they would no longer permit
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
games to include nudity. Many
fanservice , fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, i ...
video games with sexual content have some brief nudity. The "M" rated series ''
Senran Kagura is a multimedia franchise created by Kenichiro Takaki and developed primarily by Tamsoft and Marvelous. The series debuted in Japan in 2011 with the release of ''Senran Kagura: Shōjo-tachi no Shinei (Senran Kagura: Portrait of Girls)'' for t ...
'' has some nudity in both gameplay and cutscenes but genitals are not displayed. Fanservice games rated "T" such as the ''
Hyperdimension Neptunia is a series of role-playing video games produced by Compile Heart and Idea Factory, which revolves around and parodies the real-life video gaming industry and other forms of Japanese culture. The series has also branched off into a manga, li ...
'' series offer similar content but less than what ''Senran Kagura'' has. However, since 2018, Sony has now issued new regulations for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
games with both fanservice and sexual content. For the localized release of '' Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal'', "Intimacy Mode", a mode where the player can play with the characters' bodies was removed, but by comparison, this mode is still available in the series' previous titles '' Senran Kagura: Estival Versus'' and '' Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash''. The PC release of ''Burst Re:Newal'' was not changed. Many other recent PS4 games with sexual content are facing the same problem from Sony, including ''Neptunia'', '' Date a Live: Rio Reincarnation'', '' Death end re;Quest'' and the ''
Nekopara , taglined ''Cats Paradise'', is a series of adult visual novels developed by NEKO WORKs and published by Sekai Project. The first game in the series, ''Nekopara Vol. 1'', was released in December 2014, taking place in a world where human ...
'' series, although Sony did allow nudity and a sex scene in ''
The Last of Us Part II ''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Set four years after '' The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable characters in a post-apo ...
''. This controversy had become a problem for the development of '' Senran Kagura 7even'', in which publishers Marvelous are now reconsidering the game and series producer Kenichiro Takaki is now leaving Marvelous."Senran Kagura producer explains why he left Marvelous and teases his future at Cygames"
/ref>


Lists of related games

*
List of erotic video games This is a list of erotic video games. Legend List of erotic games See also *List of eroge This is a list of Japanese erotic video games, also known in Japan as ''eroge''. This list does not include fan created parodies. The market in ...
*
List of regionally censored video games Many video games have certain elements removed or edited due to regional rating standards. Third generation (1985–1993) *''Bionic Commando'' – The game was renamed from , the character of Adolf Hitler was renamed "Master-D", the Nazis are r ...
*
List of Japanese erotic video games This is a list of Japanese erotic video games, also known in Japan as ''eroge''. This list does not include fan created parodies. The market in Japan for this type of game is quite large, and only a small number of the games gain any level of re ...
*
List of AO-rated video games A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...
(the
ESRB The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Softw ...
's "Adults Only" rating) *
List of controversial video games This is a list of video games considered controversial. The list includes games that have earned controversies for violence, sexual content, racism, and review bombing from fans. Some of the video games on this list have been banned or regiona ...
*
List of banned video games This is a list of video games that have been censored or banned by governments of various states in the world. Governments that have banned video games have been criticized for a correlated increase in digital piracy, limiting business opportu ...


See also

*
Breast physics In video games, breast physics or jiggle physics are a feature that makes a female character's breasts bounce when she moves, sometimes in an exaggerated or unnatural manner. History The first video game in which breast physics were a notable ...
*
Overwatch and pornography Blizzard Entertainment's 2016 video game ''Overwatch'' inspired a notable amount of fan-made pornography. The game's distinct and colorful character designs drew the attention of many online content creators, resulting in sexually explicit fana ...
*
Cybersex Cybersex, also called Internet sex, computer sex, netsex, e-sex, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication (webcams, VR headsets, etc.) and other electronics (such as ...
*
Eroge An ''eroge'' (, ''eroge'', or , ''erogē'', ), also called an H-game, is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. The term encompasses a wide variety of Japanese games containing erotic content across multiple genres. The first ''eroge'' were crea ...
*
Hentai Hentai () is a style of Pornography in Japan, Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as ''eroge''). The developme ...
*
Virtual sex Virtual sex is Human sexual activity, sexual activity where two or more people (or one person and a Virtual actor, virtual character) gather together via some form of communications equipment to arouse each other, often by the means of transmitting ...
*
Uncanny valley The effect is a hypothesized psychological and aesthetic relation between an object's degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The uncanny valley hypothesis predicts that an entity appearing almost huma ...
*
Criticism of Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for personal computers by the ...
*
Gender representation in video games The portrayal of gender in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studi ...
* Playersexual *
BDSM in culture and media BDSM (i.e., Bondage (BDSM), bondage and Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, Sadomasochism, sadism and masochism) is a frequent theme in culture and media, including in books, films, video games, television, music, magazines ...
*
Sexism in video gaming Sexism in video gaming is prejudiced behavior or discrimination based on sex or gender as experienced by people who play and create video games, primarily women. This may manifest as sexual harassment or in the way genders are represented in ga ...


References

{{Sex Video games * Sex industry