An exciting month has passed for the developer studio 3Division and fans of the city-building game Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic. As we previously reported, a fan's actions caused the official website and Steam store of the game to be temporarily unavailable. But now the game is back and available for purchase.
The Conflict
The fan who caused the problems was formerly a popular member of the community. He wrote a guide to enable a more realistic gaming experience. Although 3Division was already working on a mode that would provide this experience, the studio agreed to credit the player. However, the player was excluded due to his behavior.
The Attacks
The player then used the YouTube reporting system to report copyright infringement against a helpful influencer of the game. Through a series of DMCA claims, he eventually managed to take down the official website and Steam store of the game.
The Consequences
As a result of the incident, the game had to be taken offline for a certain period of time. In a brief statement on the Steam page, the development team thanked the community for their patience and support:
"Dear community and players,
We are pleased to announce that our game is now available again in the store! We thank you for your patience, support, and understanding as we have navigated through this difficult situation.
We would like to apologize to those who wanted to purchase the game but were unable to. We underestimated the situation, and it escalated very quickly. We wish this had not been the case."
Conclusion
After the unusual incident, the game is finally available again for all players. Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic is not a game for everyone and has a very specific target audience. However, for those interested in city-building simulations and urban planning in communist states during the Cold War, the game is worth checking out. Thanks to its return to Steam, all interested players can now enjoy the game once again while keeping in mind the importance of respecting intellectual property rights.
