Japanese indie developer and YouTuber Nupuryu has recently revealed that their bank is declining to process an international payment from the company publishing their game. The financial institution has not provided any explanation for this refusal.
Nupuryu is the mind behind Ruins Seeker, an adult action RPG that first appeared on Japan’s DLsite in 2019, with Steam and GOG versions following in 2020. The current complication concerns the Steam edition, which is handled by Kagura Games, a US-based publisher distributing the title internationally.
In a July 30 post on X, the developer mentioned that Rakuten Bank, a major Japanese online bank, has stopped a transfer (likely containing earnings from game sales) from their foreign publisher. “I suspect their policy might be to reject international payments tied to R-rated games. This is what’s known as the debanking problem, but finding information about it is difficult. I plan to share any details I uncover,” they stated.
In a subsequent update, Nupuryu explained they visited their bank to discuss the matter and presented a copy of their publishing contract. Despite this, Rakuten Bank informed the developer that the transaction would not proceed. The creator shared an email screenshot from Rakuten Bank’s international payments department stating, “After our review, we cannot accept this incoming payment from abroad. We apologize for the trouble, but we will initiate a refund to the sender.”
Furthermore, the bank added it “cannot reveal the exact reason for the denial,” leaving the developer with limited options for resolution. Nupuryu’s situation is part of a growing trend of debanking cases. Earlier this year in May, Japanese indie creator Mousou no Mayu was blocked from receiving funds connected to Steam sales of an all-ages version of their adult game. During that incident, the developer faced inquiries such as, “Does this income come from a game with young characters?”, and the bank explicitly stated the rejection followed a “detailed examination of the game’s content.”
Likewise, Mai Itsuki from adult game studio Ren shared in April that their bank had ceased all transactions linked to overseas versions of their titles, citing “specific risks.” The decision stood even after the developer supplied evidence of their business’s legality and a year-long sales record in the US without complications. It’s worth noting that each of these incidents involved different banks, suggesting this isn’t solely a policy of one particular institution against adult game transactions.