Indie Says Valve Is Blocking Its Game For Infringing On Its Own IP

"The processes behind-the-scenes at Valve are arcane and impenetrable, where the sloppiest rip-off products in the world seem to be able to release unhindered, while others find their games restricted for inexplicable reasons."

"The motif of a board game I personally created in the past, placed within the game Wired Tokyo 2007, is getting caught by Steam's side as third-party intellectual property."

"Wired Tokyo 2007, due at some point in 2027, describes itself as a vertical 3D action game where you climb toward the vast skies above Tokyo, where new abilities are unlocked by diving back down."

"The copyright-violating aspects, as claimed by Valve, include a dinosaur themed card-games shown on the environment within your app in gameplay, which refers to a board game called Dinostone, created by one Daikichi."

Valve has prevented the release of a demo for Wired Tokyo 2007, claiming it violates third-party intellectual property. The developer, Daikichi, asserts that the content in question is their own creation. Daikichi's game features a board game motif they previously developed, which Valve mistakenly categorized as third-party IP. The demo, set to include a significant portion of the game, is delayed as a result. Wired Tokyo 2007 is described as a vertical 3D action game with unique gameplay mechanics involving climbing and falling.

Read at Kotaku