MISERY Returns to Steam After DMCA Dispute With GSC Game World Is Finally Resolved
- Sagar Mankar
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
MISERY has officially returned to Steam after a brief but chaotic delisting caused by a DMCA strike from STALKER developer GSC Game World. The survival title quietly vanished from the platform last week, but the dispute has now been resolved, allowing players to purchase the game once again.
In a detailed Steam update, developer Platypus Entertainment explained that the team worked directly with GSC’s legal representatives to clear up the "misunderstanding". According to Platypus, the DMCA strike stemmed from concerns about two overlooked assets in Misery’s files, both of which have now been removed.
The first involved a legacy helicopter model created during the early non-commercial stages of the project. Platypus said it wasn’t used in gameplay and wasn’t meant to ship with the final product, but it was accidentally left behind in the files. The team admitted it was an oversight and removed the model permanently after community members spotted it.
The second issue centered around guitar tracks. Misery included several “original covers” of songs the developers believed to be public-domain folk melodies. However, some of those tracks were actually written or exclusively licensed by GSC for the STALKER series. Even though no audio files were directly copied, Platypus said GSC requested their removal and the team immediately complied.
Beyond these items, GSC also asked the studio to remove STALKER-themed easter eggs, including an in-game recreation of the iconic ruined arch seen in STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl’s promotional art. Platypus admitted it was intended as a respectful homage, but they agreed to remove it as part of the resolution.
While the technical issues were relatively small, the impact on Misery’s launch was huge. The developers described the takedown as “extremely painful financially,” saying the one-week delisting triggered a wave of refund requests.
The situation also escalated socially. According to screenshots shared across Reddit, an early Discord message from someone on the Misery team included offensive language aimed at GSC. The developer later apologized for “old posts and comments” that contained inappropriate statements. Additional screenshots circulating online allegedly showed more inflammatory messages from moderators and users, including political slurs connected to the Russia–Ukraine conflict, where GSC is based. The studio now says all such posts have been removed and that it has implemented strict moderation rules going forward.
Despite the drama, Platypus has taken a more diplomatic tone in its official statement. The team thanked its community for supporting the game during its sudden removal and even urged players not to review-bomb GSC titles in retaliation. They emphasized that such behavior “is harmful to the gaming community” and asked players to revert any reviews made solely out of anger.
To mark the return of Misery, the developers launched a weekend 50% discount on the Supporter Bundle. They also confirmed that a major update is planned for next month, along with performance improvements, QoL upgrades, and more transparent patch notes.
The studio closed its statement by saying, “Lessons learned, now back to work,” calling Misery a unique IP that draws inspiration from many works but doesn’t infringe on any STALKER property. As a final note, they mentioned a bizarre leftover issue: a broken “Demo” button on the Steam store page that they can’t remove, and they’ve already reached out to Valve to fix it.