Funko, the company behind collectable toy Funko Pops, has released a statement following the takedown of indie games platform Itch.io. The collectables creator released their statement across social media, late on Nov. 9, shortly following itch.io’s return.
The statement acknowledged Funko’s takedown of itch.io, explaining: “brand protection partners identified a page on http://itch.io imitating the Funko Fusion development website.”
Image Credit: Funko
Funko Claims Itch.io Page Was Imitating Funko Fusion Game
In the statement, Funko stated its appreciation for indie games, but asserted it was moving to protect Funko Fusion, and that it didn’t request the take down of the entire site:
“At Funko, we hold a deep respect and appreciation for indie games, indie gamers, and indie developers. We’re fans of fans, and we love the creativity and passion that define the indie gaming community.”
Funko Fusion is a 2024 action puzzle video game featuring Funko Pops, utilizing DLC to have players complete levels based on the various intellectual properties. Sitting at a middling 54 Metacritic score with a 5.7 user rating, the game has not exactly been highly regarded.
Still, Funko Fusion is a property of Funko, and the take down seems to have been issued to protect it. What this single page or game was remains unknown, as it was taken down by itch.io when first reported.
Still, observers have noted that Funko’s “brand protection partner” BrandShield allegedly issued a far more harmful fraud and phishing report about the page than a standard DMCA. A Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request is what is commonly used on YouTube, Twitch, and other cases of copyright being abused. It usually targets a single webpage, video, or image.
A fraud and phishing report, on the other hand, can affect an entire website and is much more serious. Both methods can be abused by companies to take down criticism, parody, and infringe on free speech, and have been pointed to as key parts of copyright trolling.
Still, a more concerning part of the statement comes from Funko’s assertion that they had “reached out to itch.io to engage with them on this issue.” This came after a post from itch.io seemed to show that Funko had called the site-owner’s (presumably Leaf Corcoran) mother.
“This is not a joke, Funko just called my mom”
And, a notable missing point from the statement was any kind of apology, just an acknowledgement that they had mistakenly taken down a beloved indie game website. Funko, it seems, isn’t quite ready to say it’s sorry for this one.
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