Myth of Empires removed from Steam after copyright infringement allegations

Strategy title Myth of Empires has been removed from Steam over copyright infringement allegations.

The game's developer Angela Game has declined to reveal who requested the game's removal, but PC Gamer reports it was from the developer and publisher of Ark: Survival Evolved, Studio Wildcard and Snail Games.

The takedown request documents say Angela Game employs numerous former Snail Games employees and at least one had access to the Ark: Survival Evolved source code.

Studio Wildcard became "understandably concerned" at similarities between the two games, including identical gameplay mechanics it believed were beyond coincidence. Comparing the code, the developers claim to have found hundreds of matching class, variable and function names, which they say confirms the source code was used in Myth of Empires.

"Studio Wildcard and Snail Games USA Inc have a good faith belief that Myth of Empires was built by: (1) stealing the Ark: Survival Evolved source code and (2) using the stolen source code as the gameplay foundation for Myth of Empires," reads the complaint

"Key employees of the developer of Myth of Empires worked at the Chinese parent of Snail Games USA Inc and at least one of them had the credentials that enabled them to access the Ark: Survival Evolved source code."

This was presented to Valve on 1st December who swiftly delisted the game on Steam on 3rd December.

Angela Game has denied the allegations.

"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," the studio said on 7th December.

"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."

It followed up further in a statement on Twitter: "Though we are frustrated with this situation as well, we still have faith that we will be able to resolve this situation in a timely manner and make the game available to everyone again."

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

Myth of Empires remains unavailable to purchase on Steam.

Will you support Eurogamer?

We want to make Eurogamer better, and that means better for our readers - not for algorithms. You can help! Become a supporter of Eurogamer and you can view the site completely ad-free, as well as gaining exclusive access to articles, podcasts and conversations that will bring you closer to the team, the stories, and the games we all love. Subscriptions start at £3.99 / $4.99 per month.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7psHRqJ6apZWne6%2Bx02iksqyYYrynecSmp6Kqlah6s7HMqK2enF2bv7C5jKyrnpmdYravecKop7KqmZy1tXnIp52roZ6csq6xza1kmqScmrSiwMiopaw%3D