The turf wars begin: Schedule I is being investigated for possible copyright infringement by the publisher of Drug Dealer Simulator

In a rather pointed example of life imitating art imitating life, Schedule I and Drug Dealer Simulator are beefing over turf—and by “beefing over turf,” I mean that Drug Dealer Simulator publisher Movie Games SA has begun an investigation into potential copyright infringement of its games by Schedule I.

The investigation was first reported last week by Polish site PAP Biznes, which said (via Google Translate) that Movie Games had received a “legal analysis” indicating that Schedule I had committed a “potential infringement” of its IP rights in the Drug Dealer Simulator games, “including elements of the game’s plot, mechanics, as well as [the] UI.”

Schedule I and Drug Dealer Simulator don’t look at all alike: The DDS games are rooted in GTA-style realism while Schedule I is, let’s say, more akin to a downgraded Rick and Morty. But they’re both games about rising up from a small-time dope dealer to drug empire kingpin, and so some possible gameplay crossover between the two doesn’t seem unlikely.

Does that crossover cross the line into infringement? In a statement shared with PC Gamer and posted on Discord, Movie Games said that’s what the investigation is all about.

“Due to repeated opinions that Schedule I is very similar to DDS, we were obliged to request a legal analysis from an intellectual property specialist,” Movie Games head of marketing Michał Puczyński said. “It has indicated that there might have been an infringement by the Schedule I developers in relation to Drug Dealer Simulator.

“Now we are obliged to follow up further, but we are yet to contact the Schedule I developers. Our goal at this point is discussing the situation with them and we have an open approach.”

Puczyński said that no legal action against Schedule I developer TVGS has been taken, and that reports suggesting otherwise are likely the result of “misinterpreting” a report that was originally published in Polish. He added that Movie Games isn’t looking to stop TVGS from making or selling Schedule I, but “we need to consider our legal obligations if law specialists determine that there are grounds to claim infringement.”

“This is a very serious situation for us,” Puczyński said. “We’re not a big corporation, but a relatively small indie publisher. There are other drug simulators out there with very positive scores and good sales. These are A-OK in regards to DDS according to lawyers. What we know is we have to be very careful in all proceedings.”

Puczyński said Movie Games actually contacted TVGS shortly before the release of Schedule I and “wished them all the best” with it, “but that was before that legal analysis. Back then no one expected it to be needed, not to mention that it would bring these results.”

Tyler of Schedule I developer TVGS (Tyler’s Video Game Studio, in case you’re wondering where the name came from) confirmed with PC Gamer that he did in fact receive an email from Movie Games in March “providing positive feedback on the Schedule I demo and wishing me well for the full release,” but said he’s had no contact with the publisher since.

So there might be some sort of infringement issue here, but at this point Movie Games is still figuring out what’s what—and, pointedly, reassuring everyone in the meantime that it’s not looking to drop a heavy hammer on Schedule I. That remains to be seen, of course, but there’s no mystery as to why it would want to be as clear as possible on that point. The blowback against the Drug Dealer Simulator games in response to early reports about the investigation has been fast and ferocious: Both games have been inundated with negative reviews complaining about Movie Games’ investigation—quite a few accuse the company of suing TVGS, which as noted is not the case—and urging anyone interested in the DDS games to play Schedule I instead.