How to see adult games on Steam

To see adult games on Steam, open your store preferences and tick Adult Only Sexual Content under Mature Content. Steam hides those games by default, and they will not appear in search, recommendations or tag pages until that box is ticked. In the United Kingdom and Australia there is a second step: Steam also requires a credit card stored on your account as proof of age.

This page gives the steps for the browser and the app, explains what each mature content filter does, and lists the reasons the games might still not appear.

Key points

• The setting is called Adult Only Sexual Content, under Mature Content in store preferences.
• It is off by default. Turning it on means affirming that you are at least 18.
• In the UK and Australia, a valid credit card on the account is also required. Debit cards do not count.
• Some games are not sold in every country, so some stay hidden even with the setting on.

Steps in a web browser

1. Sign in to Steam at store.steampowered.com.
2. Go to store.steampowered.com/account/preferences.
3. Find the Mature Content section.
4. Tick Adult Only Sexual Content.

The change takes effect immediately, as How-To Geek’s guide describes. Search results and store pages will now include Adult Only games.

Steps in the Steam app

1. Click your account name in the top right corner.
2. Choose Store Preferences.
3. Under Mature Content, tick Adult Only Sexual Content.

Store preferences belong to your account, so the setting follows you when you sign in elsewhere.

What each mature content filter does

Steam has five mature content categories. Developers declare which apply when they submit a game, and you choose which you want to see.

The last category is the only one hidden by default. Games such as The Witcher 3, which have sex scenes but are not explicit, fall into the earlier categories and are visible to everyone. Only games that state “Adult Only” on their store page are hidden.

Valve introduced this system in September 2018, a few months after announcing that it would “allow everything” on Steam except illegal content and trolling. As Game Developer reported, Valve paired the new filters with a requirement that developers describe the violent or sexual content in their games, so customers can read what is in a game before buying it.

Extra steps in the UK and Australia

United Kingdom

Since 29 August 2025, Steam has required UK users to verify their age before it shows store pages and community hubs for mature games. The method, as TheSixthAxis reported, is to store a valid credit card on the account. The account counts as verified for as long as the card remains. A debit card does not work, because people under 18 can hold one.

Australia

Since 9 September 2026, Steam has asked Australian users for a valid Australian credit card before showing games classified R18+. The message cites Australia’s Age-Restricted Material App Distribution Services Code, according to Game Developer. PayPal, debit cards and identity documents are not accepted.

The reasons behind both changes, and the US position, are in Steam age verification and adult games.

Why you might still not see a game

If the setting is on and a game still does not appear, one of these is usually the reason.

1. Your country. Adult Only games are not available everywhere. In 2019 the South China Morning Post reported that Steam would not let users in China see them.
2. The developer’s choice. Developers can withhold a game from particular countries to comply with local law. The first fully uncensored adult game on Steam, released in September 2018, was withheld from 28 countries by its developer.
3. Age verification. In the UK and Australia, the store will not show mature content until the credit card check is passed.
4. The game has been removed. Since July 2025 Steam’s rules have excluded content that may break its payment processors’ standards, and a number of adult games were withdrawn. A removed game stays in the libraries of people who bought it but cannot be bought again. The timeline covers what was removed.
5. The link points to an all-ages version. Some games are sold in an all-ages version on Steam, with adult content offered elsewhere as a patch.

Turning it off, and privacy

To hide adult games again, untick Adult Only Sexual Content in the same place. You can also untick the other categories if you want to hide violent or partially nude games.

The setting only changes what the store shows you. It does not post anything to your profile. Games you own appear on your profile in the usual way, and Steam lets you mark individual games as private so that they do not show there.

For parents

The mature content settings are not a parental control on their own, because anyone using the account can change them. Steam offers separate family features with a PIN that restricts what a child’s account can reach. Set those up on the child’s account rather than relying on store preferences.

Finding adult games once they are visible

Turning the setting on makes Adult Only games appear everywhere in the store, mixed in with everything else. To find them deliberately:

• Search by tag. Steam’s tags describe genre and themes. Combine a genre tag, such as visual novel, RPG or simulation, with the store’s search filters to narrow results.
• Read the content description. Every game with mature content has a section on its store page where the developer describes it. It is the most reliable way to know what a game contains before buying.
• Follow curators. Steam curators are people and groups who recommend games. Some focus on adult titles.
• Check the review summary. Steam shows the share of positive reviews from buyers, and lets you read recent reviews separately from older ones.

Seeing adult games while hiding particular content

The mature content settings are broad. Steam offers finer controls, introduced with the filters in 2018 according to Game Developer:

• Excluded tags. You can list tags you never want to see, and games carrying them are hidden from store lists and searches. Steam raised the limit from three to ten tags in 2018.
• Blocked developers, publishers and curators. You can hide everything from a particular company or curator.
• Ignore. Any individual game can be marked as ignored, which removes it from your recommendations.

These controls let you see adult games in general while keeping themes you do not want out of view.

What the Adult Only label tells you

The label says the developer has declared explicit sexual content. It does not say how much of the game that content takes up, what kind it is, or whether the game is any good. A long story-led game with a few explicit scenes carries the same label as a game built entirely around them. Read the content description, the tags and the reviews before you decide.

How this page was put together

The steps and filter names come from Steam’s store preferences as documented in the guides listed under Sources, and the country restrictions from news reports that quote Valve or the developers involved. Steam’s interface changes from time to time; if a step no longer matches what you see, please tell us under the corrections standard.

It was written on 3 October 2026.