MISERY removed from Steam after GSC Game World issued alleged DMCA strike
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Key points
- GSC Game World claims MISERY uses GSC’s game content without its authorization.
- MISERY developer Maewing believes the strike was an abuse of power against small independent developers by large corporations.
- Maewing stated that GSC Game World’s allegations are absolutely untrue, and that the studio will fight back to reinstate Misery on Steam.
GSC Game World issued a DMCA strike against Maewing’s MISERY, resulting in the title being removed from Steam’s catalog. Within the DMCA strike, GSC Game World claims that Misery infringes on its IP: S.T.A.L.K.E.R., thereby hurting its interests. The studio published photos to back up their claim.
Misery’s development studio, Maewing, fought back against the allegations and publicly announced that it would fight back to reinstate Misery on Steam.
“MISERY is a completely different concept, happening in the fictional Republic of Zaslavie, and it has nothing to do with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe, Chernobyl, etc. MISERY uses no characters, plot, storyline, assets, monsters, music, code, etc., from their games,” Maewing responded.
The studio stated that they believe the DMCA strike issued by GSC Game World is an abuse of power against small independent developers by a large corporation, and that the practice should not be normalized. As of writing, MISERY is still not readily available on Steam. Despite the differences, Maewing asked the community not to review-bomb GSC Games, as well as asking them not to insult them or people in comments.
MISERY is a cooperative survival shooter that was released on Oct. 230, 2025. The game was developed by the primary solo developer with the handle Maewing, a developer who works at Platypus Entertainment. The DMCA takedown notice was reportedly addressed to both the publisher, Utopia, and the developer, Platypus Entertainment.
