IKEA sends their lawyers after an IKEA-Inspired horror game, but do they really need that? The game is named The Store Is Closed, a horror game with a furniture store map. You might wonder how it is an experience to spend the night in IKEA; the indie developer wanted to make this a horror game, but it looks like IKEA didn’t like this idea. The game’s furniture store is too similar to the Swedish store’s design, and many signs are related to IKEA. Luckily, the game isn’t released, and the developer doesn’t get sued, but they must make some changes.
We’ve seen much similar news to this; some companies don’t respect indie developers and sue them. In some situations, the companies could be the rightful side. IKEA’s warning to The Store Is Closed is controversial; here are the similarities you should look for.
IKEA-Inspired Indie Horror Game “The Store Is Closed” Gets Warned
IKEA’s reason is the game’s map is too similar to their store design. The game shows a blue, rectangle-shaped store and the inside of the store also has a very similar design. The colors, products, and even the restaurant’s menu is from IKEA. The developers say they used an asset pack to design the game but didn’t break the similarity. This is a part of the company’s warning, which explains the level of similarity:
“Your game uses a blue and yellow sign with a Scandinavian name on the store, a blue box-like building, yellow vertical striped shirts identical to those worn by Ikea personnel, a gray path on the floor, furniture that looks like Ikea furniture, and product signage that looks like Ikea signage,” the legal paperwork insists. “All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an Ikea store.”
IKEA's lawyers contacted me about The Store is Closed.. #IndieGameDev #gamenews #Ikea https://t.co/sKYCeozPKm
— Ziggy (@ZiggyGameDev) October 28, 2022
The Store Is Closed game aimed only to reach 10.000 dollars in donations on Kickstarter. If we consider that IKEA makes billions every year, an indie game shouldn’t be a big problem for their brand. But the company didn’t change the decision and asked the developer to remove similar objects.
What do you think about this discord?