Minecraft may have inspired decades of blocky survival and crafting games, but voxel has never automatically meant copying Mojang‘s game. Still, one small indie project has suddenly found itself in exactly that kind of legal hot water. The indie game Allumeria was removed from Steam after Valve received a DMCA claim filed ‘on behalf of’ Microsoft, alleging that the game infringed Minecraft.
On the Allumeria Discord server, the developer unomelon strongly disputes this. All assets and code for the game were made from scratch, but it still puts them in a ‘very dangerous and scary position.’
“Microsoft has taken Allumeria down from steam. They claim that this screenshot infringes on their copyright. Obviously, this is a bogus claim. But it puts me in a very dangerous, and very scary position. I have 10 days to figure out what I am going to do here. The safest thing to do is just roll over and die basically. Allow them to delete the game. If I do fight it, then i could be ruined by a large corporation. I genuinely do not know what to do.”
Google search results still show links to both its Steam and Itch.io pages. However, the Steam page now redirects to the storefront homepage. The Itch.io update log shows Allumeria launched its Alpha 0.1 version in February 2025 and last received an update in September before the takedown debacle.
The emailed DMCA notice compares screenshots of Allumeria and Minecraft, arguing visual similarity equals infringement. That’s where the controversy exploded.
After all, countless 3D voxel survival games exist with similar aesthetics, from Hytale to Vintage Story. Those who’ve tried Allumeria also say its mechanics resemble Terraria more than Minecraft’s, with clearer progression and goals.
To make matters worse, it seems the game has been mistakenly flagged by the AI. On Reddit, user ooroofdofe pointed out that the DMCA takedown was carried out by Tracer.ai, a company known for AI-based copyright enforcement tools. Meanwhile, X user @tyronmm noted copyright should protect specific creative works, not just a general visual style. They argued that resemblance alone should not be grounds for infringement.
For now, Mojang and Microsoft are still tight-lipped on the issue. Valve is also keeping Allumeria offline on Steam while unomelon decides whether to file a counter-notice in 10 days. Doing that could restore the store page, but risks escalating the dispute into a lengthy legal battle. Regardless of the outcome, this definitely highlights how overzealous copyright enforcement can put small creators in high-stakes conflicts, whether or not AI is involved.
