It turns out the “Mal Reynolds” who issued Steam game Void War with a DMCA takedown was not a troll who also happened to be a huge fan of Firefly. It was actually Warhammer 40,000 owner Games Workshop, which took issue with an image of a shoulder pad.
Last month, IGN reported on Void War, a strategy game dubbed ‘FTL in a Warhammer 40,000 skin,’ after it was pulled from Steam. At the time, its developer, Tundra Interactive, suggested it may have been on the receiving end of a nuisance DMCA takedown from a troll claiming to be Games Workshop.
Void War is often compared to both indie darling FTL and Warhammer 40,000, Games Workshop’s tabletop wargame set in the grim darkness of the far future — and it’s easy to see why. The gameplay looks incredibly similar to Subset Games’ hugely popular 2012 ‘spaceship simulation roguelike-like,’ and the aesthetic is very Warhammer 40,000. The voidships look like Imperial Navy Vessels. Some of the characters look like Space Marines. There’s an actual Psyker that’s called a Psyker. There are “Imperial Shrineworlds.” There’s even a mention of “Imperial astrogation authorities.”
Following the takedown, IGN asked Tundra Interactive for comment, and it responded with something quite unusual. It said that it had received a takedown notice from Valve stating that Games Workshop itself had claimed copyright infringement. But here’s what made this one odd: the claiming information came from Games Workshop’s public-facing infringements inbox and the name “Mal Reynolds.”
Mal Reynolds is a name that will be instantly familiar to Firefly / Serenity fans, because that’s the name of the main character, played by Nathan Fillion, in the beloved but short-lived sci-fi show. At the time, it was thought that it was unlikely that Games Workshop would have someone on its books named Mal Reynolds. But, well, it turns out Games Workshop really was behind the takedown, according to Tundra Interactive.
Tundra Interactive told IGN that Games Workshop eventually replied to the developer to confirm it was their notice, and that the concern was limited to a specific shot from one of the trailers on the Steam store page that it said could give the impression that Void War was associated with Games Workshop. The company specified that the element in question was “the oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim.” And, well, yeah, that Void War trailer did indeed have an image of a character who looked a lot like a Space Marine, complete with “oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim.”
Tundra Interactive told IGN that it disagreed with Games Workshop’s assessment here, but in order to get Void War back on Steam and to avoid a drawn out DMCA fight, it pulled the trailer. It may re-upload it in the future after making an adjustment, but its priority is getting back to work on Void War, the developer insisted. And, to that end, Void War is now back on Steam.
Here’s Tundra Interactive’s statement in full to IGN:
To recap, the initial takedown was triggered by a DMCA notice attributed to Games Workshop. At the time, we could not independently verify the submitter beyond the name and contact email Valve included. The contact email was GW’s public infringements inbox, and the name listed was “Mal Reynolds,” which is also a fictional character from the sci-fi TV show Firefly.
After over a week of no response, Games Workshop eventually replied to our email and confirmed the notice was theirs. They said their concern was limited to a specific shot from one of the trailers on the store page, arguing that certain elements could create the mistaken impression that Void War is associated with Games Workshop, specifically what they described as “the oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim.”
All of the artwork in the trailer is original work created by our artists. While we disagree with their assessment, the simplest way to get the game back up and avoid getting bogged down in DMCA process was to remove that trailer and move on. We may re-upload an updated version later after we find time to adjust that shot, but for now our priority is shipping content and finishing multi-language font support so we can finally deliver proper translations.
Thanks for your patience, and thank you for the overwhelming support. o7 commanders.
All’s well that ends well? Perhaps. Certainly this case shows that Games Workshop and “Mal Reynolds,” who I’d love to meet one day, are keeping a close eye on video game characters and their shoulder pads. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise, given Games Workshop’s history of stringent IP protection. Be warned! The Inquisition is always watching.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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