Misery devs claim they’ve resolved “misunderstanding” with Stalker studio GSC Game World, as shooter returns to Steam

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The Steam page for the post-apocalyptic shooter Misery is back up after a brief removal. Developers Platypus Entertainment say they’ve reached an agreement with GSC Game World, the creators of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., resolving what they called a misunderstanding. As part of the agreement, Platypus Entertainment removed a helicopter model, certain music tracks, and all mentions of GSC’s games from Misery.

Platypus recently announced on Steam that the game is once again available on the Steam store.

The studio responded to the takedown request and explained what happened. They received a message from the lawyers representing GSC this Wednesday, which clarified their concerns about MISERY. The studio maintains that MISERY doesn’t copy any of GSC’s original content like the world, characters, or story, as was initially claimed. However, they admit they weren’t aware of two specific issues at the time of the takedown and these weren’t included in the original claim.

Two issues recently came to light regarding content in MISERY. First, a helicopter model appeared in the game’s files, but Platypus explains this was an old asset accidentally left over from the original game and was never actually used or visible to players. Second, the game features guitar songs. Platypus states that while the original GSC games used well-known folk tunes, the MISERY developers had original covers of these songs created by a friend. Importantly, no original audio files from the GSC games were used. It was discovered that some of these songs were either specifically written for or exclusively licensed by GSC.

As a big fan of both games, I was really bummed to hear that the Platypus team had to remove some references to GSC’s games – apparently, the developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. asked them to. The Misery team, who made the mod, said they wish GSC had just talked to them first instead of immediately filing a DMCA takedown. They also said it’s been a real financial hit, with a bunch of refunds and having to temporarily take the game offline right when it launched!

I’ve contacted GSC Game World again, but they haven’t yet made any public statement about this. I’m still waiting for a response.

So, about that whole Misery takedown situation – it’s pretty wild. Someone over on Reddit grabbed a screenshot of one of the developers, Maewing, reacting to the game being pulled from Steam. Their initial post on Discord was… intense. They used really offensive language and slurs, basically blaming others and vowing to fight to get the game back up. Thankfully, they quickly edited that post and apologized for some “old posts and comments” that were clearly inappropriate and hurtful. It’s good they acknowledged it, but the initial reaction was definitely shocking to see.

Reddit users found evidence on Platypus’ Discord server suggesting support for Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, where GSC is located. Although some content appears to have been removed, screenshots reportedly show racist language, backing for the Wagner Group (a Russian private military company accused of war crimes), and the letter ‘Z’ – a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion. I haven’t been able to independently confirm these screenshots due to the alleged removal of content.

In a Discord post where they apologized, Maewing stated they do not support extremism, violence, or discrimination of any kind, and that they value and respect players from all backgrounds. Platypus, the game studio, has now asked anyone who left negative reviews on their games due to this situation to please remove or change those reviews.

Considering everything, it’s hard to consider this issue resolved just based on Platypus’ post, especially without a reply from GSC. Since Misery’s account is now active again, we’ll need to wait and see if anything happens that proves Platypus’ explanation is incorrect.

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2025-11-14 13:26