Facepunch Studios Removes 20 Years’ Worth of Nintendo-Related Workshop Items
Facepunch Studios, the developer of the sandbox game Garry’s Mod, has made the decision to remove all Nintendo-related workshop items from its platform. The studio shared this announcement on Steam, stating that it is complying with demands made by the Japanese gaming company.
False DMCA Claims Target Nintendo Add-Ons
Earlier this year, it was reported that a group of trolls had been falsely filing DMCA claims against the game’s add-ons in an attempt to have Nintendo-related content removed. Brewster T. Koopa, an affected user, pointed out that the demands were not actually from Nintendo, as the company would have directly contacted Valve, the publisher of Garry’s Mod. Koopa warned that several Gmod addon makers, including themselves, had fallen victim to these false claims.
Respecting Nintendo’s Decision
Facepunch Studios, after conducting an investigation and receiving people’s emails and messages, has determined that Nintendo was indeed behind the requests to remove the copyrighted content. The company believes that it must respect Nintendo’s decision to protect its intellectual property and has started the process of taking down the items in question.
Self-Moderation Call to the Community
As Facepunch Studios has approximately 20 years’ worth of uploads to review, the developer has requested assistance from the community. In its announcement, the studio indicated that users deleting their Nintendo-related uploads and refraining from uploading such content again would greatly aid them in this ongoing process.
Facepunch Studios is taking the matter seriously and is committed to preventing the misuse of DMCA takedowns. Garry Newman, the studio’s founder, confirmed that the takedowns were assured to be verified and that they will continue. The studio has reached out to Nintendo for additional clarification.
Update: Nintendo’s Confirmation
Garry Newman later stated that Nintendo had confirmed the legitimacy of the takedowns. Consequently, the removal of Nintendo-related content will proceed as planned.
