Popular Pornographic Games on Steam

Bibliographic Data

ID24216985
AuthorsPetri Lankoski (0000-0002-5247-6807, Södertörn University)
Year2026
Publication date2026-09-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGames and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1555-4120 • E-ISSN: 1555-4139
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/15554120261495169
OpenAlexW7214919663
LanguageEN
References cited20

This study examines which pornographic games are popular on Steam and identifies what players consider to be features of a good pornographic game. The analysis draws on Steam user reviews and genre folk taxonomy drawn from the f95zone database. Game popularity is determined by review scores and counts; these correlate with sales figures, and the combined review counts are used to map genre prevalence and popularity. Steam reviews and genre descriptors are analyzed using structural topic modeling to identify recurring patterns and content themes. The findings show that popular pornographic games on Steam predominantly follow heteronormative pornoscripts, centering male player perspectives and conventional sexual practices. At the same time, a subset of successful games foreground transgressive and taboo content, including monster sex. Across both patterns, pornographic conventions are closely integrated with established game and story conventions, particularly those of narrative-driven genres such as visual novels and role-playing games.

game popularity · Heteronormativity · narrative games · player reviews · role-playing games · steam · visual novel · Digital Games and Media · Educational Games and Gamification · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access