TLDR:
Incest based VN's isn't something i proactively follow so i indeed have little knowlage on its history.
patreon banning Dev's that have a 3rd party incest patch isn't something i've seen yet
using F95 as a refference for "best" tag to be a popluar/succesfull AVN isn't "incest".
top 10 vn's based on top Likes(a like on the OP)
it has a 1/10 hit rate as a incest focus , 4/10 as side content/3rd party patches
top 10 based on Reviews (weighted rating)
its 2/10 have incest ,1 is player based typing your preference the other is 3rd party based
although incest is indeed present in the top VN's ,its mostly optional(3rd party) and/or side content.
Conclusion:
Making SA into a incest cannon focused game likely won't change much if anything at all for its succes/popularity ,so doing that would still be a unwise move to get the" A lot of people specifically support games for that exact content." to support whilst dropping if off Patreon and missing exposure from it.
3rd party patch if stil the way to go about it IMO.
Not really. A lot of people specifically support games for that exact content. Creating content that appeals to a large number of supporters isn't stupid. Look up that the most searched porn titles are. Guess what is at the tippy top. Then guess what sort of tag and content attract backers for AV games. "Marketing" would suggest every game should have that tag for SEO.
read all this and checked around on f95 , using the incest tag + weighted rating & likes.
the most popular incest games dev's still have a patreon ,most have moved on to second project's etc. but also still feature mentions on previous games, also the "3rd party" patch or typing in relationships yourself is thing i noticed to be most common in the incest tagged games ,games where its Cannon and not optinal seem to be rare.
Top 10 based on likes(a like on the orignal post)
1.badik (no incest)
2.summer time saga (incest side paths now 3rd party due to patreon TOS but orginally cannon)
3.milfy city (3rd party incest)(haven't actaully tried this so incest could be a Main focus here)
4.harem hotel (incest side paths if i remember correctly its on one sis x sis but in no way is this a Incest focussed VN)
5.eternum (no incest (yet? sister x sister/mother x daughter might become a thing))
6.treasure of nadia (3rd party incest)
7. what a legend! (no incest)
8. city of broken dreamer (no incest)
9 Desert stalker (type your own relationship ,so user based incest or not)
10. Dating my daughter (the only one i'd say is a true cannon Incest foccused game in this top 10 )
Top 10 based on Weighted rating (actual reviews)
1. Pale carnations (no incest)
2. eternum (no incest (yet? sister x sister/mother x daughter might become a thing))
3. Desert stalker (type your own relationship ,so user based incest or not)
4. Leap of faith (no incest)
5.one in a lifetime (3rd party patch incest)
6. badik (no incest)
7.hooked! (no incest)
8.Superhuman (no incest)
9 katawa shoujo (no incest)
10.my pig princess ( no incest)
even looking further then the top 10 ,The "best" SEO tag seems to be "vignal sex" and defaults like that ,putting those aside the next ones seems to be "sandbox" & "exohibitionsm".
regardless F95 in no way shows a indacation that the "incest" tag is a driving factor in VN's succes
i won't deny it adds some fans but it is no way the reason the vn's are popular/succesfull
Creators still get kicked off of Patreon for "3rd party" incest patches. The community managers at Patreon aren't stupid, they know that the devs specifically code their games to allow for patching and/or create the patches themselves, and have kicked many, many creators off for it. You don't seem super knowledgeable about the history of Patreon and incest banning.
you do see some VN's that don't have patreons and only subscribestar (mainly those that seem to be "hardcore" in their portraying off the incest)
And no i don't actively follow patreons banning off incest games as incest isn't my fetish, it does seem that most do still skirt around it with the incest not being on the nose via 3rd party patches etc.
i do remember a few years big that there was the sudden big incest wave on regular pornsite (like pornhub etc.) where sudden everything was step-mother/sister etc. it did seem like was a big thing all the sudden.
you have been around the F95 community longer then i have so i won't deny there might've been tons off incest game banning off patreon etc.(actually have only seen it happen once in the ~2 years i've been around here)
but it isn't something i've see happen alot since i joined the f95 community