I blame holidays and sales for the new&popular rankings. An influx from youtubers showing horror games and creating popularity is an everyday occurence. But for the holidays many pushed out an update and gave discounts. The new & popular adult games are mostly not "new", but recently updated.
move platforms
Are there even many places like Itch? For finished games, sure, there are some places. But games deeply in development, often from amateurs? For some nieche genres maybe. Like that open minecraft thingy whatever it's name. And rpg maker boards.