Myth Of Empires Has Been Pulled From Steam For Alleged Copyright Infringement

Myth of Empires has been pulled from Steam following allegations of copyright infringement just over a week after the medieval Asian sandbox MMO launched on the platform.

According to PCGamer, the complaint that led to the game’s de-listing on Steam was reportedly filed by Studio Wilcard who is accusing developer Angela Game of stealing ARK: Survival Evolved’s source code. Angela Game’s founder allegedly had access to ARK’s source code when he worked for Snail Games prior to starting his own studio. The complaint further claims that a preliminary analysis of Myth of Empires’ source code when it launched last month showed hundreds of matching class, variable, and function names.

The analysis has led the Studio Wildcard to believe in good faith that Myth of Empires was built by stealing ARK’s source code and that the stolen code was used as the gameplay foundation for the newly-released sandbox game.

Angela Game responded with the following statement:

“A few days ago, Steam received allegations of suspected copyright infringement concerning Myth of Empires, and in accordance with the DMCA and to exempt itself from liability, has temporarily removed Myth of Empires from its store. Our development team solemnly declares: Angela Game fully owns all rights and property associated with Myth of Empires and will actively respond to any doubts or allegations on this point. We are in active contact with Steam and are doing our best to restore the game to their store. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused players.”

The game is currently unavailable for purchase on Steam but is still playable for those who already own it.

Regarding the rumours of involved parties in the delisting incident, please read this announcement. pic.twitter.com/oxKALUWyeB

— Myth Of Empires (@MythOfEmpires) December 8, 2021