Damage Control (Patreon)

Hey Supporters,

The Situation

If you haven't heard, itch.io has decided to severe our business relationship. They sent me an extraordinarily vague message saying they are no longer willing to handle transactions on my behalf, and that I'll have to go through PayPal directly in order to sell my work on their site.

What that means is that I can no longer make money on itch.io. PayPal is notorious for shutting down adult content creator accounts, and itch.io knows this. The Direct Pay method they're forcing me to move to would be temporary, and cost me my PayPal business account. It's simply not a reasonable option. There is a witch hunt going on for adult content creators, and it looks like itch.io is likely doing this because they've been hit by the latest attack. I don't know that for sure though.

Half of my income disappeared overnight. I do not have a day job, so this business is all my income. I've directed people from itch.io to my Patreon, and I have seen a little uptick in my subscribers. Hopefully, over time, we'll see this equal out.

I don't create content to make money, I make money so I can create better content. I hired a coder, a marketing assistant, and I've shelled out money for some extra services trying to build a grander, more ambitious project titled The Judas Ghost. The money you've all given me I have invested back into my projects.

This was supposed to be the progress report where I was going to announce that I'm moving into my own place. The itch.io ban could not have come at a worse time. I'm doing some renovations for my new place, I'm getting things moved out of this new place so I can move into it, and I'm taking on the burden of new expenses.

I've been living my with parents the entire time I've been developing AVNs. That means I didn't have a mortgage, I didn't have utility expenses, and since I work from home I gave up my car and just use my parents whenever I need to go somewhere.

So, yeah, this is bad. I'm dipping into savings trying to stay afloat, but I will sink rather quickly if I don't figure something out.

The Plan

EDIT: I've discussed the possibility of getting A Moment of Bliss onto Steam with a friend. Unfortunately, since A Petal Among Thorns was banned, the risk of AMoB getting banned is high. It's not worth it to try to get AMoB on there because I'll just further soil my relationship with Steam. The smart play is to hold out, and get The Judas Ghost on Steam when I have enough content to put it into Early Access there.

I've also laid out the final scenes for The Judas Ghost. I'm going to try to have a release early in July. If it's a success, I should generate a good amount of new Patrons. This will also help me stay afloat.

Until then, I'm dipping into my savings. I'm going to continue production, I'm still going to move into my own place, and I'm still going to fight to stay in this market. But if itch.io dropped me, anyone can. I am not safe anywhere now. This is going to be a constant fight for survival.

I appreciate all of you. You're helping to keep me alive here, and that means everything to me. I love this work, I believe I'm contributing something positive to the world. I'll be here, standing firm, until I don't have anywhere left to stand.

Final Notes

I've been trapped in a daze since this happened. My head is spinning, it seems almost unreal. I'm trying to screw my head back on, and get back to work. Progress for last week was impacted by the itch.io debacle. Next Monday I'll have a report for you guys. I'm just trying to do damage control right now. Once my mind settles down, and the shock wears off, I'll be able to get back to work.

You guys make this career possible for me. I deeply appreciate that. I'm going to keep this train moving forward until the tracks run out. Thanks again for being so supportive.