The horror survival game “The Store is Closed”, which is under development, recently received a letter from IKEA’s lawyer because there are too many IKEA-like elements in the game. If these elements are not changed when the game is launched, IKEA will A lawsuit will be filed. The store page of this game has been launched on Steam before, and the release date has not been determined.
The Store is Closed is an online co-op survival game set in an infinite furniture store. Players are trapped in an endless furniture store trying to survive against mutant employees who attack at night. Players must explore the store, including different departments, an underground SCP laboratory, and a floating department in the air to find their way out.
Created by individual developer Jacob Shaw in a studio called Ziggy, the game just raised over $49,000 in a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
The word “IKEA” is never mentioned in any of the game’s promotional materials, including its Steam page, during its Kickstarter campaign — and nowhere else. Still, IKEA’s lawyers sent the developer a letter asking him to change anything in the game that might remind people of the “IKEA” brand.
Ikea asked the developers to make all changes “within ten business days from the date of the lawyer’s letter”, removing any parts they deem similar, even though the game hasn’t been released yet.
Developer Jacob Shaw reluctantly told Kotaku: “I was going to prepare the update for all the alpha testers in the last week of Kickstarter, but now I have to desperately revamp the overall look of the game so I don’t get sued.”
