After launching into Early Access on Steam last month, viral indie game Schedule 1 faced a copyright investigation due to similarities with Drug Dealer Simulator – but the latter title's publisher wants to make one thing clear following backlash: there is no lawsuit.
Speaking in a recent post on Steam, publisher Movie Games confirms as much, clarifying the situation amid rumors of a supposed lawsuit against Schedule 1 developer TVGS.
"There is no lawsuit," reads the announcement. "It is not our intention to prevent TVGS from selling or developing their game." While a lawsuit hasn't been filed as of yet, there is indeed still a copyright investigation into similarities "between the games" underway.
As Movie Games writes, "There is an investigation into the nature of similarities between the games since a preliminary legal analysis indicated there might have been an infringement." According to the publisher, it was "necessary" to investigate: "The analysis and investigation were necessary in the light of repeating opinions that the games are very similar."
If it wasn't investigated, Movie Games "could face severe consequences for negligence."
The publisher continues, explaining how the entire situation unfolded and how rumors of a lawsuit took off soon after online. "The above was communicated only via ESPI, a stock market communication system, where we are obligated to publish such information for full transparency. Not publishing it would also be a case of negligence. From there, it was picked up by the media and, in some cases, wrongly reported as a lawsuit."
Movie Games also clarifies that Drug Dealer Simulator's developers haven't been involved. "The above is handled only by Movie Games, the publisher, not Byterunners, the developer of Drug Dealer Simulator. The developer is not involved in it whatsoever."
There's no telling whether this new statement will curb the review bombing, but as of now, Schedule 1 sits with an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating while Drug Dealer Simulator has an "Overwhelmingly Negative" one.
