A popular fan-made Superman demo is being sold on Steam after being "stolen" from its creator.
Back in 2021, we wrote about an impressive Superman demo made using Unreal Engine 5. Developed by Tyson Butler-Boschma, the project was something of a test for what a modern Superman game might look and play like. Footage showed the superhero soaring gracefully through the skies, a stunning city laid out beneath him, making us more eager than ever for a new fully-fledged Superman game.
Earlier this year, Butler-Boschma built upon this idea and made a playable version based in the same city as The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience. Much to the delight of Superman fans, this was released on itch.io for free under the name "A Superman Style Flight Experience (UE5)".
But here's where the story gets dark. In a recent tweet, the developer claims that someone has stolen his Superman demo and is selling it on Steam. "I made this for fun to show what could be made!" says Butler-Boschma, adding, "This is a scam!"
Someone has put my Superman demo up and steam and is selling it as a full price game!!! I made this for fun to show what could be made!This is a scam! The demo is free on Itch! Please retweet and report this crap! @DCComics @valvesoftware https://t.co/IpuC6qceo3November 2, 2022
To make matters worse, the developer says the scammers are now making copyright claims against him on Valve's platform and YouTube. In a tweet earlier today, Butler-Boschma posted an image of the copyright strike he'd received from YouTube, saying that the fraudsters are "straight up attacking and harassing me at this point and I don't feel safe providing my personal information for a counter claim". In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, "I am at a complete loss at this point. Steam has done nothing and now I feel the same will happen with YouTube."
The team that stole my free superman demo and are selling it on Steam, are now copyright claiming my content on @YouTube as well... They are straight up attacking and harassing me at this point and I don't feel safe providing my personal information for a counter claim... pic.twitter.com/dqd0oHjul4November 14, 2022
The game Butler-Boschma says is his stolen demo is titled Heroes City Superman Edition and launched on Steam on November 1. A review written by Butler-Boschma, which gives his side of the story, received a response from the Hero Game Studios, the company credited with creating Heroes City Superman Edition. Not only does it deny that the game is stolen, but it claims that Butler-Boschma is "one of the former developers" who left the project "a long time ago".
Butler-Boschma's modern Superman experience can still be enjoyed for free over on his itch.io page.
See the great games making their way to PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC in our new games 2022 guide.
