Intro

In the past few days, itch.io has been taken down entirely, blocking the single biggest spotlight indie games have overall since it both sells and hosts games that would have no budget for it otherwise.

Funko Pop was behind the takedown because their partnered AI-powered brand protection flagged a game on the site and instead of writing a DMCA letter, they went ballistic.

In the late hours of December 9, 2024, the website was back up after backlash on social media caused the corporation to loosen the grip on the website, resulting in an official statement a few hours later.

Funko’s statement

In Funko’s official statement, they noted they “hold a deep respect and appreciation for indie games, indie gamers, and indie developers” while they are also somehow “fans of fans”.

Empty corporate nonsense aside, the statement also claimed the takedown request was not for the entire itch.io platform but only for the specific page relating to the game that infringed on the company’s rights.

This is where things get interesting and all the reasons why the statement is so hollow start to pop up.

Why it rings hollow

It didn’t take long for X’s Community Notes to kick in as readers pointed out leafo, the person running itch.io, noted the platform was accused of “fraud and phishing”. The accusations were sent directly to the site’s host (Linode) and registrar (iwantmyname).

Upon leafo’s intervention, the game infringing on Funko’s rights was removed, the user behind it blocked and that was enough for Linode who closed the case and business continued as usual. Meanwhile, iwantmyname didn’t respond, the ticket went to the automated system which eventually took down itch.io. Now, you can blame the whole situation on the registrar’s lack of attention but all of this would have been avoided if Funko went the usual DMCA way instead of going straight to the host and registrar.

Such an approach is somewhat unusual in corporate circles but a couple of years ago Wizards of the Coast sent Pinkertons to a YouTuber’s doorstep to retrieve Magic the Gathering cards. This intimidation tactic may seem unrelated to itch.io’s troubles but the CEO of the heavy handed companies was Cynthia Williams in both cases.

Similarities arose once again with Funko calling up leafo’s mother on the phone, claiming issues about accusatory statements on social media. This happened just one hour prior to Funko’s statement.

While the company may claim benevolence and understanding through words, their actions certainly tell a different story.