The popular overseas visual novel game 'Doki Doki Literature Club!', which had been played by over 30 million people, has been removed from Google Play due to its depiction of sensitive themes.

' DokiDokiLiteratureClub !' , a visual novel game in the style of a dating sim that gained worldwide popularity due to its provocative content, has been removed from Google Play , the app store operated by Google.

Cult horror game Doki Doki Literature Club pulled from Google Play Store for its 'depiction of sensitive themes' and content that 'violates' its TOS | Eurogamer.net
https://www.eurogamer.net/cult-horror-game-doki-doki-literature-club-pulled-from-google-play-store-for-its-depiction-of-sensitive-themes-and-content-that-violates-its-tos

'Doki Doki Literature Club!' was released in September 2017 as a visual novel game for PC on itch.io. It was later released on Steam and, as of December 2024, had been played by over 30 million people .

Doki Doki Literature Club! by Team Salvato
https://teamsalvato.itch.io/ddlc

The game trailer is as follows:

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! - Official Launch Trailer - YouTube


While it looks exactly like a dating sim, the Steam store page states, 'This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed,' and the user-defined tags include many ominous ones such as ' psychological horror ,' ' horror ,' ' dark ,' ' gore ,' and ' violence .'

'Doki Doki Literature Club!' was released in December 2025 for iOS and Android, and was distributed on the App Store and Google Play respectively. As of the time of writing, it is still available on the App Store, but Google removed it from Google Play on April 11th.

Team Salvato, the developer of 'Doki Doki Literature Club!', and its publisher, Serenity Forge , have announced on Bluesky that the Android version of 'Doki Doki Literature Club!' has been removed from Google Play. The joint statement from Team Salvato and Serenity Forge is as follows:

'Yesterday (the 9th), Google decided to remove 'Doki Doki Literature Club!' from Google Play. The reason given is that the game's depiction of sensitive themes violates the terms of service. 'Doki Doki Literature Club!' has been widely acclaimed worldwide for its portrayal of mental health, helping players feel understood and accepted, and alleviating loneliness in their journeys. We are most grateful for the power of fiction to connect with others and bring about meaningful change. This is what motivates us to continue creating works that reach people, especially those who need connection. 'Doki Doki Literature Club!' is currently still playable on various major platforms including iOS, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation.' We will continue to explore all possible ways to make the game available again on Play and will do everything we can to support it. At the same time, we are also exploring the possibility of alternative distribution methods for Android. We have worked hard to bring Doki Doki Literature Club! to Android, and over the past few months, we have received a lot of love and support from passionate Android users. We are deeply grateful to our community for their long-standing support. We will continue to provide updates on the future of the Android version of Doki Doki Literature Club!

A statement regarding the removal of DDLC from the Google Play Store:

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— Serenity Forge ( @serenityforge.com ) April 10, 2026 6:33