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A sick video game that lets players take on the role of a "menacing serial killer rapist" during a zombie apocalypse is being prepared for release online.

The game, called Rape Day, encourages players to "verbally harass, kill, and rape women as you choose to progress the story".

Billed as a "choice-driven visual novel", the game contains "violence, sexual assault, non-consensual sex, obscene language, necrophilia and incest," according to its description on Steam.

It also contains a disturbing scene of a zombie drowning a baby before "mashing it up into pulp".

Rape Day is currently being reviewed by Valve for inclusion in the Steam Store .

(Image: Desk Plant)

While Valve has previously banned games that are far less controversial than Rape Day, it introduced a new content policy in June 2018 that essentially amounts to "anything goes".

"We've decided that the right approach is to allow everything onto the Steam Store, except for things that we decide are illegal, or straight up trolling," Valve's Erik Johnson wrote in a blog post at the time.

"Taking this approach allows us to focus less on trying to police what should be on Steam, and more on building those tools to give people control over what kinds of content they see."

Rape Day appears to be an attempt by the developer, Desk Plant, to test this policy.

(Image: Desk Plant)

The game has been listed on Steam for several weeks, with an estimated release date of April 2019.

But in an update posted today, Desk Plant said it had "reached out" to Steam because the review process was "taking longer than expected".

"I learned that because the game contains sexual content and content that may be illegal in some countries, the review process will take much longer than expected," he wrote.

"Unfortunately, I was not able to get a more specific time estimate for you guys. Thank you all for your patience."

Desk Plant said that, if Valve rejects Rape Day, it will try to find or create an alternative way of selling and marketing the game.

"I have not broken any rules, so I don't see how my game could get banned unless Steam changes their policies," the developer wrote on a website set up to promote the game.

"My game was properly marked as adult and with a thorough description of all of the potentially offensive content before the coming soon page went live on Steam.

"If both my game is banned and I am banned, then I will ensure that a content platform for all kinds of legal, quality porn games exists."

(Image: Desk Plant)

Responding to controversy around the game's themes and content, Desk Plant said: "I tried to make a game that I would enjoy playing, and there are other people like me.

"4% of the general population are sociopaths and the type of people that would be entertained by a story like this is not even limited to pure sociopaths.

"I understand that it is however it is not the majority of people; again the game is for a niche audience."