Ikea Lawyers Urge Indie Horror Game Dev to Change its 'Infinite Furniture Store' Setting

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is sending a cease-and-desist letter to an Indie developer who created a horror game potentially inspired by a popular setting.

The company said that the in-game location of the survival video game title closely resembles the Ikea furniture stores in real life.

Ikea wants the developer to change all of the things related to its store in less than two weeks.

Ikea Sends Letter to Indie Horror Game Dev

As 9GAG spotted, Ikea lawyers have issued a cease-and-desist demand to Ziggy, a one-man game studio behind the upcoming horror game title "The Store is Closed."

The gameplay of the game is comparable to the previous survival games, but one thing is strikingly familiar at first glance-- the setting of the game.

According to Ikea, the Indie developer has perfectly copied the real-life Ikea furniture stores in the game. Because of this, the company sent a letter to Jacob Shaw regarding the issue.

Ziggy Might Give Up the Case

The letter states that Shaw has only 10 days to "change the game and remove all indicia associated with the famous Ikea stores".

"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 letter reads.

However, Shaw claimed that he purchased "generic furniture asset packs" for the game. He told Kotaku that he did not intentionally copy the exact setting of Ikea for the "The Store is Closed."

The Ikea lawyer urged Shaw to change everything related to Ikea or else there could be a problem with copyright infringement. Regarding this issue, Shaw said that he is currently seeking legal advice. However, he is also considering the legal cost, so there's a huge chance that he might not go for it anymore.

What is 'The Store is Closed?'

Per Video Games Chronicle's report on Monday, Oct. 31, Ziggy has already raised £53,000 or more than $61,000 in a Kickstarter campaign. Initially, Shaw aimed to hit at least £10,000 or almost $11,600, but surprisingly, it exceeded the target goal. There are still three days remaining before the campaign closes.

The gameplay of the game features a typical horror survival setup wherein there's a survivor, and there's a killer on the loose. The actual setting consists of furniture everywhere, which will convince you that it's one of the Ikea stores.

Despite Shaw's explanation, Ikea remains unconvinced on his explanation. While it's "flattering" for other developers to use an Ikea-inspired setting, the company still wants to ensure that its trademarks won't be misapplied in the game, Polygon reported.

"The Store is Closed" is currently viewable on Steam. The game's planned release date is TBA, but Shaw says it will be launched no later than 2024.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry