Following a mass DMCA takedown order from Nintendo, 379 fan-made games have been removed from games hosting service Game Jolt, including many free-to-play titles.
Game Jolt is a website that hosts free and commercial video games for download. Sometimes indie games are sold on the website alongside the Epic Games Store and Steam, while other times, gamers make fan-made follow-ups to their favorite titles such asUndertale. Many of these free, fan-made titles are also based on franchises likePokemon, Super Mario, andThe Legend of Zelda, or include trademarked characters from these franchises.
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All 379 games listed in Nintendo’s statement have been taken down from Game Jolt. Developers of these fan-made titles have been greeted by a surprising message that their game was removed from the site: “We have receiveda DMCA takedown noticeand were required to remove it from the site. Only you are able to view it.”
Many developers who have made Nintendo-inspired titles are frustrated by the takedown, including Eeveeloverdoesgaming, who believes this is a sign that Nintendo “hates their fans.” Despite the statement about Game Jolt generating ad revenue fromNintendo-inspired content, it doesn’t look like Nintendo is demanding financial compensation for the copyright infringement at this time.
The company has a legal team specifically geared towards anti-piracy and copyright infringement that seeks out even hobbyists and indie developers “to give all legally-sold Nintendo games a chance to succeed,” Nintendo’s legal page states. In the past,Nintendo targetedSuper Smash Bros.moddersfor tampering with its software with costume and skin mods.
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