‘We resolved this misunderstanding’: Misery returns to Steam after ending its Stalker DMCA spat with GSC Game World

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Just under a week after disappearing from store listings due to an alleged DMCA strike from Stalker series developer GSC Game World, Sovietcore postnuclear survival game Misery is once again available for purchase on Steam. In a Steam news post, Misery developer Platypus Entertainment said that the game has been updated to address GSC’s DMCA complaints.

Platypus Entertainment announced that they received and addressed concerns from GSC’s legal team regarding their claims against Misery, resolving the issue this Wednesday.

Platypus Entertainment disagrees with the claim that their game, Misery, uses any intellectual property from GSC, such as its world, characters, or story. However, they admit they didn’t realize there were two problems involving assets or creative content from the game Stalker when they initially released Misery.

So, I was digging through the files for the Misery mod and found a helicopter model. Apparently, the team at Platypus said it was something leftover from when they were first making the game – back when it was just an educational project, not the full-blown thing it is now. It never actually showed up in the game, and the Misery dev admitted it was just a mistake that slipped through and they’ve taken it out now.

Platypus also removed certain guitar tracks from Misery, explaining that they thought these were covers of well-known folk songs, but actually originated as melodies from the game Stalker. Although Platypus initially stated they hadn’t used any audio from Stalker, it was discovered that some of the songs were either written or exclusively licensed by GSC, and GSC requested their removal, which Platypus promptly did. Additionally, at GSC’s request, Platypus removed references to Stalker, such as a recreation of a famous ruined arch from the original game’s artwork.

Platypus explained that the DMCA takedown caused significant financial hardship for them, as it happened right after the game launched and led to many refund requests. They asked players who left negative reviews for their games to please remove them, stating that intentionally flooding games with negative reviews, or ‘review-bombing,’ is damaging to the gaming community.

Platypus asked everyone to be respectful and avoid insulting other players or the GSC team. Specifically, they stated that racist language or bringing up political topics in a negative way won’t be allowed.

Although the team behind the Misery mod is now trying to be more understanding, their first reaction to the game being removed from sale was quite hostile. Shortly after the announcement, users on Reddit shared screenshots from the Misery Discord showing a developer angrily calling the creators of the original Stalker game offensive names and using a derogatory term about disability.

The developer later apologized for past posts and comments that contained offensive language. However, before the apology, other Reddit users shared screenshots allegedly showing moderators and users on the Platypus Discord server using slurs and supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – a country where the development team, GSC, is located. These messages, if real, have since been removed.

Platypus announced Misery’s return and stated they’ve implemented a firm Discord moderation policy to prevent the chaotic environment experienced previously.

“Lessons learned, now back to work,” Platypus said.

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2025-11-14 20:33