Stalker dev GSC Game World DMCA’d a Stalker-inspired indie off Steam⁠, and the devs are crying foul: ‘This is an abuse of power against small independent developers by a large corporation’

by

The developer of the indie game Misery, a co-op survival horror shooter, announced on Friday that the game had been removed from Steam. They shared a post on the game’s Steam page, featuring a picture of a sad cat, explaining that a DMCA claim filed by GSC Game World, the creators of Stalker, led to the game being delisted. Players may have noticed it was no longer available to purchase or play today.

I just saw this crazy thing online! Apparently, Valve emailed the solo developer of Misery, a 19-year-old named Maewing, and their publisher, Ytopia. It turns out GSC Game World, the makers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., claimed Misery was using content from their game without permission. The email included screenshots comparing the two games, and honestly, it’s pretty clear they both have similar scenes – like this one of a group of survivors chilling around a campfire with guitars and gas masks, scavenging for supplies. It’s a tough situation for a small indie dev!

We have reached out to GSC Game World for comment, and will update this article if we hear back.

I’m not a legal expert, but this copyright claim feels based on gut feeling rather than solid evidence. The email admits the screenshots only show examples and not everything that’s supposedly copied, and it seems odd that GSC Game World would focus on just a few scenes that, while looking a bit alike, don’t appear to use the same actual game elements like models or textures.

The developers of Misery have responded to a DMCA claim, stating they don’t compete with or use any assets from the original Stalker games. They acknowledge inspiration from various sources, but argue a DMCA takedown for general inspiration is inappropriate. They also point out that the Stalker games themselves were inspired by the novel Roadside Picnic and the film Stalker, and that common elements like Soviet-era architecture, music, and themes of decay aren’t copyrightable.

Misery doesn’t use any characters, story elements, artwork, or code from other games. Everything in Misery is either original or we have the legal rights to use it. We believe a large company is unfairly using its power against small independent developers, and this practice should stop.

A developer named Maewing reportedly reacted strongly to recent criticism on the game’s Discord server. A Reddit user, AcceptableAttitude13, shared a screenshot on the Stalker subreddit showing Maewing’s post, which included offensive language and expressed anger towards criticism, specifically targeting claims made by certain individuals. The post read, “FUCKING GSK GAY WORLD SEND US STRIKE FOR WIERD AHH SHIT, JUST LOOK AT THE CLAIMS OF THOSE [r-slur]. We will fight rn to return our game back!!!”

The original post has been revised to be less provocative. It still mentions the Stalker studio as “GSK” Game World, but it no longer includes any offensive language. While I can’t confirm the original wording, Maewing later responded to the concerns.

Following the removal of my content due to a copyright claim, some past posts and comments containing offensive language were discovered. I understand why people are upset, and I take full responsibility for what I wrote. Those statements were immature and wrong, and they don’t reflect my current beliefs or who I am now. I sincerely regret sharing them.

I strongly condemn all forms of extremism, violence, and discrimination. I deeply respect our players and friends from every country and with every background. Regarding the DMCA takedown request, we’ll address it in a calm and professional manner. We don’t believe it’s justified and are confident Valve will look into the matter fairly.

People on the Stalker subreddit are suggesting the recent takedown might be because the developers of the ‘Misery’ mod allegedly support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This discussion includes screenshots from the ‘Misery’ Discord server. However, I haven’t been able to confirm this claim; the only proof currently available is screenshots of Discord posts, some reportedly from people who worked with the mod’s creator, Maewing.

Misery’s Discord appears to have been thoroughly scrubbed following the DMCA request, and a new post from Maewing states that inflammatory talk related to the conflict will result in an instant ban: “If someone spams Z’s or ZOV or any Ukrainian symbolic, swastics (sic) and so on in reactions or messages, just ban him without hesitation.” While it’s not clear this motivated the takedown, even in part, it would go some way to explaining why the more popular Stalcraft⁠, another Stalker-inspired survival game, remains unaffected.

Read More

2025-11-09 02:03