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Considering how important romance and relationship gaming have become over the past decade or so — just try and imagine a version of Baldur’s Gate 3 that doesn’t focus so heavily on romance — it’s unsurprising that relationship gaming has a long history that stretches back almost half a century at this point. Slightly more surprising (and disturbing)? How many of those early games don’t really have any concept of ‘consent.’

During the Decades of Digital Love panel at PAX West 2025, moderators Jennasis and Virvada — who host the weekly Two Girls One Ship podcast — explored the long, hard and, honestly at times concerning history of romance, sex, and relationship dynamics in video games since the '80s… starting with what they playfully, if accurately, described as the “first smut boom” for the industry back when industry regulation was just a dream no-one had yet thought to have.

The first ‘erotic’ video game actually came out way back in 1981, with the impressively unimaginative title Softporn Adventure, created by Charles Benton for Apple II. “Originally, it was intended only as a coding exercise, but it was released as a game where a man attempts to seduce three women,” Jennasis summarized, before admitting that it was “tame overall, but cringey when viewed by modern eyes.” Yet, still better than what followed a year later.

1982’s Custer’s Revenge was, according to panel moderators, “about a man who runs across the screen, dodging arrows in order to get to a trapped indigenous woman, and his prize is, he gets to rape her.” No, you didn’t misread that. Somewhat surprisingly, that was a ‘reward’ repeated in 1983’s X-Man for the Atari 2600, which advertised itself by announcing, “a ‘sexy blond’ with a body that doesn’t quit is waiting behind the door to satisfy every fantasy!. You’ve got the equipment, you’re excited, and ready to give her what she desires. All you’ve got to do is get through that door and do your stuff. Sounds easy?… Wrong!”

Both of these games were successful, but what prevented the game industry from continuing down this assault-ridden road was Nintendo, it turns out. By the time X-Man was in stores, the video game market was already struggling, and it wouldn’t recover until 1985’s launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System — which came with some specific content rules from the manufacturer.

“Nintendo said ‘no nudity,’ and the developers shifted quickly away from erotic games because Nintendo didn’t allow it,” Virvada told the crowd. “ There were three erotic games developed for the NES, but Nintendo would not license them, so they just faded into oblivion.”

As a result, videogaming became a far more chaste activity — at least until the 1990s and the dual rise of the internet and PC gaming changed the game in significant ways, leading to the second smut boom... something led in no small part by the Leisure Suit Larry games, which were inspired by a small, semi-forgotten 1981 classic called… oh yeah, Softporn Adventure.

Sometimes, even the bad stuff makes a comeback when you least expect it.

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