It should be noted that the "Plus" version of the game includes an alternate scenario without involving us the player. In this scenario, the girls develop their own stories and the bonds between each other, exploring themes like depression, abuse and self-harm in a very realistic, but warming way. There's no gore, there's no sexual content. Just 4 girls going through their problems and supporting each other as friends.

People often leave this part out (well, it's behind a paywall, so it's somewhat understandable), but this content is probably one of the most mature and well put together stories about mental health that I've seen in a video game. And if you play it after the main game, you get an incredibly cathartic effect after all the horror that the girls had to go through. Just for this alone I think it's a game worth playing and definitely shouldn't be pulled off from any store due to "sensitive themes". It helps a lot more than it harms.

Also, a quick note: some people may say that only games with icky content get banned, we shouldn't be upset. But I ask you, if you really want to protect kids, then why go after games that the government has no problem. Shouldn't you go after StarStable, a game that is currently under investigation by the European Union because of it's exploitative tactics targeted at kids? And that is freely available in the play store, keep getting kids around the world scammed: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.starstable.ssom&hl=en-GB&pli=1

Ban StarStable, not DDLC!

100%.  The news at this point is just untrustworthy.

Personal opinion, based on their description, adult themes including sexual taking place in a high school (e.g. minors)...  google ain't wrong on this one.

As Norion explained, no CP material is depicted in DDLC. If it was, the game would have been refused classification back in 2017 when it released.

If teenagers exploring sexuality is unacceptable to you, you'd have to ban everything from The Last of Us to High School Musical, not to mention like 90% of teen drama shows.

Believe it or not, in real life, the majority of teenagers do in fact explore their sexuality, and this is a normal part of growing up.

What?!!?  Only sex is last of us 2, Elle is 19, she isnt a minor.  Highschool is 14 to 17 year old kids.  Massive difference between minors and legal age.

It is a normal part of being a kid with other kids...  not normal with adults.  That is Epstein crap.  

The Left Behind expansion of TLOU1 depicts Ellie as a 14 year old exploring romance and sexuality with another teen girl.

Again, Doki Doki Literature Club does not show children having sex at all, much less with adults.

I dont recall there being sex in tlou expansion.  Seems like an exaggeration. 

And I haven't played this game but steam, google, reddit and copilot all say there is sexual comments and very heavily implied sexual activities.

Sex involving minors is a fair concern.  It just is.  Move the game from highschool to uni is a reasonable position.

People being concerned about depiction of minors isnt a crazy position.

Perhaps we have to agree to disagree, but i dont blame google.  I wouldn't put it on my store front either.

Edit

One person is claiming in the game a girl steals the pen of a boy she likes and uses it to touch herself...  as a highschooler...  I mean, that comes off as really gross and over the line because these are highschool kids.  

I didn't say sex, I said sexuality. Sexuality is not limited to the physical act of intercourse, it encompasses everything from who we are attracted to romance. Ellie and Riley share a romantic interlude and kiss. This is an exploration of sexuality.

Steam, Playstation, Xbox, even the infamously conservative Nintendo have had no issue hosting this game for years. Even Google themselves approved it, and hosted it for months before taking it down recently. It has been reviewed and rated by all the relevant organizations in charge of making sure content is appropriate for public consumption. 

The game does not show minors engaging in sex. Also, many high schoolers are technically adults; when I was in Year 12, the large majority of my classmates were 18.

Sharing a kiss and a someone stealing a pen of a boy she likes and touching herself with it..  yeah, I don't think those are remotely the same thing.  

The adult nature of it doesn't bother me.  The game taking place in a high school, which is (factually) 75-90% minors is the problem.  At least here in the States, high school has a hand full of legal adults, the overwhelming majority are not adults.

I have daughters in high school, they are minors.  Same with my niece.  Highschool = kids (here in the States)  

Edit

This isn't censorship.  This is google making a business decision.  Censorship is government banning of material.  A company making business decisions is absolutely not censorship.  

If simply referring to teen sex is too far for you, you'd have to ban everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to American Pie. 

Teen sex has been alluded to in countless games, shows, and movies for decades.