Sexy visual novel Ladykiller in a Bind finally lands Steam release (update)

Several months after launch, the not-safe-for-work narrative game Ladykiller in a Bind is coming to Steam. Lead designer Christine Love announced on Twitter that her most recent erotic visual novel is heading to the platform on Jan. 9, despite Valve previously barring her from selling it there.

Ladykiller in a Bind will be “fully uncensored and unedited” on Steam, Love added. That’s important to fans of the explicit lesbian sex comedy, which takes a no-holds-barred approach to showing its young adult protagonists engaging in BDSM, exploring kinks and navigating sexual power dynamics.

While it hasn’t been offered on Steam until now, the PC game has been sold through its competitor, Humble, since October. All Humble buyers will receive a Steam key for the game next week, Love said.

Back when it first launched, Love alluded to the unlikelihood that Ladykiller in a Bind would make it to Steam, likely due to its sexual content. Valve received criticism for holding off on selling the game, which went on to sell well despite not being available through the storefront.

Although the game hasn’t been outright banned from sex-averse services like Twitch, Ladykiller in a Bind received a censorship option in its 1.10 version update. Love added the feature — which covers up nudity with Christmas sweaters and allows players to skip sex scenes — as a way to make the game a bit more palatable for prudish players.

Whether this option played a part in getting the game to pass muster with Valve is uncertain.

“As far as I'm aware, nothing actually changed,” Love told Polygon. “There was never an outright refusal from them originally, just some uncertainty about whether or not it would be okay. (Since there's no real explicit policy about this sort of thing.) Once I actually got through and was able to discuss it with Valve, they were extremely supportive and immediately understanding—they agreed that it wouldn't be appropriate to censor the sexual content of the game, and never even asked me to.”

We first played the game in the fall; check out our review for more on the steamy visual novel.

Update: We reached out to Love, who clarified the process by which the game made it to Steam. Her comments are above.