Nighthawks Has Steam Adults-Only Classification Reversed as Wishlists Nearly Double Before Launch

Upcoming vampire RPG Nighthawks faced a major storefront problem only days before release. On September 13, 2026, Steam classified the game under an Adults Only treatment, reducing its visibility in normal search and, according to its creators, making it unavailable for sale in some regions.

Publisher Wadjet Eye Games appealed the decision, arguing that the classification did not reflect the game's actual sexual content. The restriction was removed two days later, leaving the September 22 launch intact. Unexpectedly, the attention surrounding the dispute also drove what publisher head Dave Gilbert described as an almost overnight doubling of Steam wishlists.

Quick Summary

• Title: Nighthawks
• Type: vampire narrative RPG / adventure RPG
• Developer: The Curiosity Engine
• Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
• Writer & designer: Richard Cobbett
• Art: Ben Chandler
• Music: Thomas Regin
• Producer: Dave Gilbert
• Official publisher release date: September 22, 2026
• Steam release date: September 22, 2026
• Date reported by AUTOMATON for Japan: September 23, 2026
• Primary platform: PC
• Store: Steam
• Store: GOG
• Steam App ID: 1221950
• Steam genre: Adventure
• Steam genre: Indie
• Steam genre: RPG
• Mode: single-player
• Steam Achievements: supported
• Steam Cloud: supported
• Language: English
• English interface: supported
• English full audio: supported
• English subtitles: supported
• Indonesian: unsupported
• Premise: the player is reborn as a vampire six months after death
• World status: vampires have become publicly known
• Main location: a city attempting human-vampire coexistence
• Player business: nightclub
• Goal: turn the nightclub into an empire
• Approaches: seduction, intimidation, and supernatural Gifts
• Recruitable companions: 10
• Script size: more than 800,000 words according to Steam
• Narrative: heavily choice-driven
• Combat: strategic combat
• Vampire Gift: Mesmerism
• Vampire Gift: Natural Dominion
• Vampire Gift: Tenebrous Form
• Steam mature content: strong language
• Steam mature content: adult situations
• Nudity: occasional non-explicit nudity in romance scenes
• Graphic sex scenes: none according to the developer
• Sexual violence: none according to the developer
• Steam Adults Only classification appeared: September 13, 2026
• Initial effect: removal from normal Steam search
• Regional effect: reportedly delisted in some countries
• Region specifically mentioned by the developer: Germany
• Appeal filed: yes
• Adults Only treatment removed: September 15, 2026
• Valve explanation for initial classification: no clear public explanation
• Valve explanation for reversal: no clear public explanation
• Launch status: back on schedule
• Wishlist change: Dave Gilbert says it nearly doubled overnight
• Public Steam wishlist data: unavailable
• Wishlist claim status: developer-reported, not independently verifiable
• Kickstarter: launched in 2018
• Kickstarter goal: US$125,000
• Raised: US$136,128
• Backers: 3,934
• Development period: approximately eight years
• Current status: heading toward September 22 launch

Trailer and Nighthawks on Steam

Steam Suddenly Treated Nighthawks as Adults Only

The trouble began on September 13, 2026, when Wadjet Eye Games' Dave Gilbert said Steam had classified Nighthawks as an adult game under an Adults Only treatment.

The consequences went beyond an ordinary age gate.

Gilbert said the game disappeared from standard Steam search results and was completely unavailable in certain countries. Richard Cobbett specifically pointed to Germany as one affected region.

For an independent game less than two weeks from release, that presented a serious discoverability problem because new players could no longer encounter the store page through Steam in the usual way.

Wadjet Eye Games contacted Valve and requested a review.

The Developers Said the Game Was Much Less Explicit Than the Classification Suggested

The team's objection can be compared directly with the mature-content description currently visible on Steam.

Nighthawks is unquestionably written for an adult audience. It contains strong language, adult situations, romance, violence and vampire themes.

Its developer description, however, says nudity is occasional and non-explicit, appearing in romance scenes, while much of the mature material is conveyed through text.

It also explicitly states that the game contains no graphic sex scenes and no sexual violence.

Cobbett characterized its sexual material as mild and often comedic, which is why the team believed the storefront treatment was disproportionate to what the game actually contained.

This should also be distinguished from an ESRB “AO” retail rating. The controversy concerns Steam's own classification and content treatment.

Valve Removed the Classification After the Appeal

The situation changed on September 15.

Wadjet Eye Games announced that the Adults Only treatment had been removed, restoring Nighthawks' ability to appear more normally on Steam ahead of launch.

Gilbert also credited Valve with expediting the appeal process so the issue could be resolved before release.

One major question remains unresolved: why was Nighthawks classified that way in the first place?

Gilbert said Valve did not provide him with clear insight into either the original decision or the precise reason it was later reversed.

It would therefore be inaccurate to say Valve publicly confirmed a specific algorithmic error or named a particular piece of content as the cause. What is established is that the classification was applied, challenged and then removed after review.

Wishlists Reportedly Almost Doubled Overnight

The controversy produced one unexpected result.

After coverage of the Adults Only issue spread, Gilbert said Nighthawks' Steam wishlists “basically doubled overnight.”

He ultimately described the episode as a net positive in terms of attention, even though the process itself was extremely stressful.

Gilbert also cautioned that not every new wishlist should necessarily be read as a committed future purchase. Some, he suggested, could have been “protest wishlists” from users showing support during the dispute.

Even so, wishlist activity is useful for discoverability because it provides Steam with another measure of interest in an upcoming game.

The absolute wishlist count is not public, however. The near-doubling figure comes from the developer's internal view and cannot currently be independently verified through Steam's public statistics.

The Case Highlights a Broader Problem for Smaller Developers

After the issue was resolved, Gilbert raised a wider concern.

He suggested that the unusually quick outcome may have been helped by his existing contacts, fanbase and relative visibility within the adventure-game community.

Smaller teams facing a similar storefront classification may not have the same ability to draw attention or reach the right people before launch.

Game Ad

Overdeveloped: Requiem

That turns the Nighthawks incident into more than an unusual content-label story. It also demonstrates how a storefront decision can directly affect the market access of an independent game at a critical point in its release campaign.

Nighthawks escaped the immediate problem in time, but Gilbert said he hopes the attention will make similar cases easier for other developers to address.

Eight Years of Development Lead to Launch

The Steam dispute arrived at the very end of a long development journey.

Nighthawks ran its Kickstarter campaign from September 5 to October 5, 2018, seeking US$125,000.

It finished with US$136,128 from 3,934 backers, reaching roughly 109 percent of its target.

The game is written and designed by Richard Cobbett, whose previous credits include Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies. Ben Chandler provides the artwork, Thomas Regin handles music, and Dave Gilbert serves as producer.

When announcing the September 2026 launch, Wadjet Eye Games described Nighthawks as finally nearing release after approximately eight years in development.

Become a Vampire, Run a Nightclub and Shape the City

Nighthawks begins six months after the player's death and rebirth as a vampire.

The world they enter is no longer one where vampires can exist entirely in secret. Their existence has become public knowledge, yet acceptance of the undead remains deeply unstable.

The player arrives in a city offering vampires a potential fresh start while fear, suspicion and political tension continue to divide humans and the undead.

One of the game's central systems involves taking over a failing nightclub and gradually turning it into a major operation.

Relationships, intimidation, supernatural abilities and narrative choices all influence how the player's second life develops.

Steam says the game contains more than 800,000 words of stories and secrets, alongside ten recruitable companions.

Why This Matters

1) Storefront classification can have immediate pre-launch consequences

Nighthawks had not even launched when its visibility in Steam search changed and regional availability was reportedly affected.

2) The controversy generated unexpected exposure

The publisher says the game's wishlist count almost doubled overnight after players and media began discussing the issue.

3) The original cause remains unclear

Valve reversed the classification after review but has not publicly detailed what caused the first decision.

4) It happened at the end of an eight-year development cycle

After a 2018 Kickstarter and a long production period, the storefront crisis arrived just days before the project was finally due to launch.

Game and Steam Classification Information

For now, the additional important information currently known includes:

• Nighthawks is developed by The Curiosity Engine
• Wadjet Eye Games publishes the game
• Richard Cobbett is writer and designer
• Ben Chandler provides the artwork
• Thomas Regin composed the music
• Dave Gilbert is producer
• Steam lists Adventure, Indie and RPG as official store genres
• the game is single-player
• Steam Achievements are supported
• Steam Cloud is supported
• Steam Stats are supported
• English interface support is listed
• English full audio is supported
• English subtitles are supported
• no additional Steam languages are currently listed
• Indonesian is unsupported
• Steam describes more than 800,000 words of narrative content
• 10 companions can be recruited
• Madame Lux is one recruitable companion
• Maze is one recruitable companion
• Domino is one recruitable companion
• Agatha is one recruitable companion
• supernatural Gifts are part of gameplay
• Mesmerism can influence living characters
• Natural Dominion is used to command animals
• Tenebrous Form allows transformation into smoke
• the game includes strategic combat
• nightclub management is a major progression element
• player choices affect relationships and story outcomes
• Steam's mature-content description mentions strong language and adult situations
• nudity is described as occasional and non-explicit
• those moments occur in romance scenes
• most mature content is conveyed through text
• the developer says there are no graphic sex scenes
• the developer says there is no sexual violence
• the Adults Only treatment appeared on September 13, 2026
• the publisher said the game disappeared from standard Steam search
• it was reportedly unavailable for sale in some countries
• Richard Cobbett specifically mentioned Germany
• Wadjet Eye Games appealed the classification
• the classification was removed on September 15, 2026
• Dave Gilbert thanked Valve for expediting the review
• Valve has not given a detailed public explanation of the original classification
• Valve has not publicly explained the exact reason for reversing it
• Gilbert ultimately described the episode as a net positive
• he said wishlists “basically doubled overnight”
• the absolute wishlist count remains private
• Steam provides no public data that independently verifies the increase
• Gilbert suggested some new additions may have been protest wishlists
• the game remains on schedule
• Wadjet Eye Games lists September 22, 2026 as the launch date
• Steam also lists September 22, 2026
• AUTOMATON reports September 23 in its Japanese coverage
• GOG is another official storefront for Nighthawks
• GOG categorizes it as Adventure, Role-playing and Mystery
• the GOG edition is DRM-free
• Kickstarter began September 5, 2018
• Kickstarter ended October 5, 2018
• the crowdfunding goal was US$125,000
• final funding reached US$136,128
• the campaign had 3,934 backers
• it reached approximately 109 percent of its goal
• Wadjet Eye Games describes the project as having spent eight years in development
• Steam's Windows minimum lists Windows 10 64-bit
• minimum CPU is 2 GHz or better
• minimum memory is 8 GB RAM
• minimum storage is 10 GB
• Steam also lists macOS support
• Steam also provides Linux requirements
• official information is available through the Nighthawks Official Page
• the launch date announcement is available through the Wadjet Eye Games Release Announcement
• official footage is available through the Nighthawks Official Trailer
• the PC version is available to wishlist through Nighthawks on Steam
• the DRM-free edition is listed through Nighthawks on GOG
• crowdfunding history is available through the Nighthawks Kickstarter

Closing

Nighthawks escaped a storefront problem that could have seriously disrupted its launch only days before release. Steam's Adults Only treatment has now been removed following an appeal, and the vampire RPG remains scheduled to arrive on September 22, 2026 through Steam and GOG.

What remains unclear is why the classification was applied in the first place. With Valve offering no detailed public explanation, the most visible consequence of the episode may instead be the unexpected attention it generated—attention that the publisher says almost doubled the game's Steam wishlist count overnight.