Steam page for the recently released post-apocalyptic survival shooter Misery, apparently unrelated Stalker mod called Misery – has been taken offline, with developers Platypus Entertainment claiming this is the result of a DMCA takedown filed Stalker creators of GSC Game World. Platypus say they are in the process of fighting this lawsuit, which an email shared by Platypus themselves suggests concerns copyright and the alleged use of GSC “game content” without permission.
At the time of writing I can confirm this. Misery Steam page has gone missing, but it appears that all currently available public information about this apparent statement comes entirely from Message on Steam in which Platypus shares this email. “GSC Game World has hit Misery with a DMCA hit and the store page is now locked so you can't buy the game at this time,” the post reads. “In their statement, they state that MISERY infringes on their intellectual property and that STALKER is mentioned in player reviews, which means it infringes on their interests. This is absolutely untrue and we will fight to reinstate MISERY on Steam.”
I've reached out to GSC Game World for comment.
According to a purported email from Valve in the post, storefront operators automatically removed the game page upon submission of a takedown request to avoid potential liability for any copyright infringement under US regulations. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Platypus will have the opportunity to file a counter-notice attempting to prove that the copyright infringement claims are inaccurate, and if they do so, the copyright claimant will have 10 business days to file a full-fledged claim. If such legal proceedings had not been initiated within this time frame, the game would have been automatically reinstated on Steam.
“We have filed an appeal and expect it to be reviewed within 10 business days,” the website says. Discord post from Platypus Core Individual Developer Maving. “We continue to work on updates; there will be two big updates at the end of the month and before the New Year. Right now we are working on cats and dogs. Thank you everyone for your support and for spreading the word. And please don't insult GSC, just say they were unfair.”
In the original Steam post, they claimed that Misery is a “totally different concept” and “does not use the characters, plot, storyline, assets, monsters, music, code, etc. from [GSC's] games. All of them are either created natively or licensed by law.” “We do not pose any threat to GSC or their intellectual property, we do not compete with their games or use their intellectual property,” Platypus added, calling the alleged removal “an abuse of power against small independent developers by a large corporation.”
The situation becomes even more complicated, as documented PC gameris original answer to a statement about the proposed strike, in which Maving used at least one insult. They have since edited this message on Discord and apologized for “old posts and comments that included inappropriate and offensive language” but that still makes all their posts telling others not to insult GSC very hollow.
There is also the possibility that the whole situation will have a political dimension as the GSC will Ukrainian studioAnd Reddit users after noticing signs of Russian support in the ongoing conflict between the two countries on the Platypus Discord server. I wasn't able to verify the chat screenshots they took themselves because Discord was supposedly deleted after a takedown request. The screenshots contain more insults, this time of a racial nature, and support for the Russian state. Wagner groupa private military company accused of war crimes. There are also a bunch of copies of the letter Z, which has become symbol of public support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Maving stated in a Discord post in which they apologized: “I do not support any form of extremism, violence or discrimination against any group of people. I truly appreciate and respect our players and friends from all countries and walks of life.”
At the time of writing, no other game similar to Stalker has taken takedowns, and to my knowledge, GSC has not served takedowns against games like Chernobyl and STALKRAFT: X before.
