A Japanese indie developer has revealed that their game is currently stuck in Steam’s review process due to alleged copyright issues involving assets they themselves created and own, leaving them in a challenging situation as a small-scale creator.
According to a report from Game*Spark, Daikichi_EMP, the developer behind the upcoming 3D anime-style action game WIRED TOKYO 2007, apologized for a delay in the game’s planned free demo release on April 30, explaining the reason behind the holdup. Screenshots of their correspondence with Steam support indicate that the platform has flagged certain elements of the game as potential third-party intellectual property violations.
However, Daikichi_EMP maintains that WIRED TOKYO 2007 does not reference any third-party intellectual properties, only the board games Second Best and Dyno Stone, both of which the developer themselves created and owns the rights to. They provided this explanation along with links and evidence to support their claim (demonstrating that both board games were published under their name), but Steam’s stance on the issue remained unchanged. The response from Steam continued to cite possible similarities to existing works, such as “a dinosaur-themed card game” (referring to Daikichi’s Dyno Stone).
It appears that the evidence submitted by Daikichi_EMP did not carry sufficient legal weight, as they were asked to provide either license agreements for the intellectual properties in question or a legal opinion from their attorney analyzing the intellectual property issues and explaining why licenses are not required. “Without such assurances, we don’t plan to ship your app,” stated the response from Steam.
While it is perfectly reasonable for Steam to be cautious about potential intellectual property violations in the games it hosts and sells, Daikichi_EMP expressed frustration with the limited options available to them, noting that hiring a lawyer is not financially viable for them as an indie developer.
According to an update from May 2, the developer has attempted to resubmit the game for review after drafting a signed document granting them permission to use their own creative works, including Second Best and Dyno Stone, and is awaiting a response.
WIRED TOKYO 2007 is a 3D action game where players climb a mysterious structure floating above Tokyo. It is currently in development for PC (Steam), with a planned release window in 2027. A free demo is expected to be released soon.
Mido