Last July, Valve was yanking adult games off Steam under pressure from payment processors. Today, an adult visual novel sits on the platform’s front page with a “Featured Win” badge and a 96% approval rating.

FRESHMAN: Project SEX, developed by Lewd Star, launched May 30 and immediately landed on Steam’s New Releases chart — and earned a Featured Win spot. That’s Valve’s algorithmic seal of approval, front and center for anyone browsing the store. For a game with a 🔞 emoji in its title, it’s a striking curatorial signal.

The review numbers are small but loud. Twenty-seven reviews, 26 positive, one negative. The top review, from a player with 2.2 hours logged, reads: “Came for the curiosity, stayed for the characters. Surprisingly addictive, funny at times, and genuinely entertaining. 10/10 freshman year was never this interesting 👍.” Another player spent four hours on it and left an ASCII art review — not exactly nuanced criticism, but the thumbs-up is counted all the same.

Whether that momentum holds is another matter. Twenty-seven concurrent players at time of tracking, down 38.6% from its previous run. At $9.44 during launch discount — off a $14.99 base price — the game isn’t moving blockbuster units. But the Featured Win placement means Steam’s recommendation system saw something worth elevating above thousands of other new releases.

The timing is hard to ignore. Last July, Valve removed thousands of adult titles after MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal tightened rules following a campaign by Australian advocacy group Collective Shout, according to The Guardian. The crackdown ensnared games well beyond the specific titles activists targeted. But in March 2026, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson fired back, sending letters reminding payment companies that depriving “law-abiding citizens” of services over lawful business was “contrary to American values,” as reported by iXBT Games.

Whether Valve’s current comfort level with adult content reflects that policy shift is guesswork. But the Featured Win placement speaks for itself. Lewd Star describes the game as a visual novel about “university life, risky bets, and nerdy adventures” across anime clubs, DnD sessions, and board game nights. The 🔞 in the title makes the other selling point clear enough.

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