Genital Jousting
A party game about flaccid penises and anuses.
Genital Jousting is a party video game from developer Free Lives and publisher Devolver Digital, released for Windows and macOS in 2018. In the multiplayer game, up to eight players locally or online move flaccid, disembodied penises into disembodied anuses. Alongside Traditional Mode, Party Mode offers Mario Party-style minigames, and Date Mode is a two-player co-op experience. The story mode follows John, a working man seeking a date for his high school reunion.
The game entered Steam Early Access on November 17, 2016. Although described as "extraordinarily juvenile," it was partly designed to deliver a sex-positive message to an audience unlikely to encounter it otherwise. The developer blog stated that heterosexual men are socialized to avoid discussing anal sex or penises touching, and that the game provided "a vehicle to have those discussions amongst ourselves." Developer Evan Greenwood told *The Sunday Times* that "at heart, the game is a play on masculinity, an attempt to disrupt entrenched notions of male power and authority." The game was not allowed on major consoles like Xbox or PlayStation. After Twitch banned it from livestreaming, Devolver Digital’s Nigel Lowrie contacted Steam, and Genital Jousting was among the first games broadcast through Steam’s internal live streaming feature.
- developer
- Free Lives
- publisher
- Devolver Digital
- platforms
- Windows, macOS
- release_year
- 2018
- genre
- Party video game
- modes
- Single-player, multiplayer (local/online, up to 8 players)
- metacritic_rating
- Mixed or average
Lore & Background
Genital Jousting was made available through the Steam Early Access program on November 17, 2016. Though described as 'extraordinarily juvenile', it was designed in part to deliver a sex-positive message. The studio stated in its developer blog that heterosexual men are socialized not to discuss how they feel about anal sex or penises touching each other, and wrote: 'we were highly motivated by the fact that Genital Jousting gave us a vehicle to have those discussions amongst ourselves.' Greenwood told The Sunday Times that 'at heart, the game is a play on masculinity, an attempt to disrupt entrenched notions of male power and authority.'
Reader's Guide
Genital Jousting is notable for its controversial premise and its role in challenging platform policies. The game would not be allowed on major console platforms such as Xbox or PlayStation. When it was banned from livestreaming service Twitch, Nigel Lowrie of Devolver Digital contacted Steam to see if the game could be livestreamed through the platform's internal broadcasting system. Genital Jousting became the first game to be broadcast through Steam's live streaming feature. Reception was mixed: the multiplayer was regarded as fun until the joke wears thin, while the story mode was deemed surprisingly emotional but too short. CGMagazine described the story's handling of the aftermath of a sexual assault as 'problematic', and Hardcore Gamer noted a disconnect between the multiplayer and story mode. The game remains a case study in how adult-themed content navigates digital distribution and streaming restrictions.
Did You Know?
- Genital Jousting was among the first games broadcast through Steam's live streaming feature, though Steam Broadcasting launched in 2014.
- The game was banned from the livestreaming service Twitch.
- It was made available through Steam Early Access on November 17, 2016.
- The story mode features a character named John, a working man looking for a date for his high school reunion.
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