Visual novel horror Doki Doki Literature Club has been pulled from Google Play Store for violating the Terms of Service and its “depiction of sensitive themes”.
Doki Doki Literature Club – the unsettling but brilliant psychological horror that initially debuted as freeware before joining Steam as a free game almost a decade ago – was finally ported to iOS and Android in December 2025. But while the hugely popular cult game is still available for free on Apple devices, Google has pulled the horror title from its store.
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! – Official Launch Trailer.Watch on YouTube
Despite its appealing visual novel aesthetic, DDLC is clearly labelled as a psychological horror game, with an added disclosure in the game’s description explaining “this game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed”. The disclosure is also stressed at the beginning of trailers, such as the teaser embedded on the game’s Steam page. Nonetheless, the game was pulled from the store earlier this week.
“Yesterday, Google chose to remove Doki Doki Literature Club from the Google Play Store. Their explanation is that the game’s content violates their Terms of Service in its depiction of sensitive themes,” developer San Salvato and publisher Serenity Forge Team said in a joint statement.
“DDLC is widely celebrated for portraying mental health in a way that meaningfully connects deeply with players around the world, helping them feel heard, understood, and less alone on their journey. Managing to achieve that – making a truly meaningful difference by using the power of fiction to connect to others – is what I’m most grateful for. It inspires me every day to keep making cool new things, things that can really reach others, especially those in need of connection.”
A statement regarding the removal of DDLC from the Google Play Store:
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— Serenity Forge (@serenityforge.com) April 9, 2026 at 10:33 PM
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Salvato said that the team was “continuing to do everything we can to find a path forward for getting DDLC reinstated on the Google Play Store”, as well as explore “potential options for alternate methods of distribution on Android devices” but at the time of writing, there has been no further updates from the publisher.
“We worked hard to bring DDLC to Android, and we’ve gotten to see so much love and enthusiasm from passionate Android users over these past few months,” the statement concluded. “Thank you so much to the community for continuing to express your love and support for DDLC through the years. We’ll keep you updated on the future of DDLC for Android.”
Doki Doki Literature Club – thought to have reached over 30 million players worldwide – remains freely available on other devices, including Nintendo Switch, PC, and PlayStation.
