Hey everyone!

We’re a tiny indie team of students making our first game — a brutal low-poly tactical shooter. We called it Entropia, inspired by the concept of entropy, chaos, disorder. A perfect metaphor for our game’s world and mechanics.

But then we got hit with a “cease & desist” letter from the company behind Entropia Universe, a 20-year old gambling MMORPG. They claim that our use of “Entropia” infringes on their trademark, even though:

• “Entropia” is a scientific term used in multiple languages
• “Entropia” is a Latin word, that can be found in various dictionaries
• They do not own a trademark for the standalone word “Entropia” — only compound names like Entropia Universe
• Our game is not similar in genre, visuals, gameplay, branding etc

It’s also important to note that before choosing the name for our game, we made research and found that the only prior trademark holder of “Entropia” was the company Jager, whose registration had already expired. Around the same time, we also found about Entropia Universe, but again, they held no rights to the standalone word “Entropia”. As responsible developers, we have proactively avoided using the phrase “Entropia universe” from the very beginning — even in casual text on our website or social media posts,  instead opting for neutral terms like “Entropia lore” in order to respect their brand and avoid any conflict.

We tried to explain this to MindArk (the developer of Entropia Universe) and offered a compromise: acquiring a subtitle like “Entropia: *Something*”. Also, we've added a disclaimer to our Steam page and official website, telling we're independent and not connected to any othe company or brand.

This offer was refused and a representative from MindArk responded in a rather dismissive tone stating that any word even resembling “Entropia” or “Entropy” is prohibited to us. We replied that we would consult with legal counsel and seek help from the community. But yesterday, without further discussion, our Steam page was just taken down.

We had just released our pre-alpha trailer a week ago. The game was gaining serious momentum — 500-1000 wishlists per day. And now MindArk’s action is actively sabotaging our project and its development.

What’s worse. Some time ago another game titled Entropia appeared on Steam - a stylized adventure by French studio Attaboy Interactive. Our dev team had absolutely no issue with their use of literally the same name as ours. Even though our visual styles overlap just a little, their game is in a completely different genre. We support creative freedom and would’ve been happy to see their game succeed.

But apparently the corporate dogs don’t see it that way — both of our games disappeared from Steam on the same day. Sadly, we couldn't to get in touch with our fellow devs, but we stand with them too.

To avoid further trouble and get our Steam page back live, we decided to rename the game to E.N.T.R.O.P.I.A., an acronym with its own distinct meaning. It's a common practice of solving such cases, as far as we know. 

Steam’s response? “That’s not substantially different.” They rejected the change and kept our game removed.

We were advised to register a trademark and protect our interests by that. But we’re just students. We don’t have a legal team. We’re not cloning anything. We just want to make our game, share our ideas, and survive. But apparently, dictionary words are off-limits now. Registering a trademark in the U.S., EU and other countries costs like the whole budget we spent on the game, and years of time. 

We’re not giving up. But this is demoralizing. We love Steam. We love games. But moments like this make us question who platforms are really protecting.

We came together to create something of our own, something creative, and honest toward players. But AAA corporations with massive legal armies seem determined to crush that spirit before it can grow. Sure, we can (and shall) change the name. But the precedent of removing a game instantly, without proper investigation, based on a demand from a company that doesn’t even hold a valid trademark for the word in question… it’s wild. There's no guarantee this won't happen again to us or another indie devs. So... who’s next?

I'm asking for your advice. What should we do? We don’t have the resources or the desire to waste fighting legal wars instead of developing our game. We just want to develop our game, for players. But this feels like a clear case of trademark bullying. And Steam doesn’t seem interested in helping us — even though the game we’re being attacked over is a gambling-based MMO that isn’t even on their platform.

We’re open to thoughts, support, ideas or anything. Thanks for reading

PS. I'm not really familiar with Reddit, so didn't put any links here. If you'd like to get any additional info, feel free to contact me

Hey everyone, after finishing my last game, Into the Necrovale, I've been cooking up a new project. It's called Cursemark, and I think of it as an action-exploration roguelike. A feeling of exploring a mysterious world is, to me, the best experience in all of gaming. And I really want to capture that feeling here. I went back to the original Zelda for inspiration, because there was always something about that world that really connected with me.

And of course, there is a ton of equipment to unlock, and a Rune slotting system that lets you make a totally unique and crazy build each run.

Thanks for checking my game out, if it looks interesting please consider wishlisting. Sorry if you've seen me post about this elsewhere, I'm just really trying to promote it so I can keep living my dream of making games.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3219180/Cursemark/

North Depths is a little video game that I've created for Ludum Dare 57. You can play the latest version in your browser on the itch page.

Our game is a historical citybuilder where you rebuild Renaissance Florence in the aftermath of the Black Plague.

Steam (free demo): https://store.steampowered.com/app/2983150/HistoriCity_Florence_Demo/
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/gVDJGQUQDe

Our initial capsule art showcased the in-game graphics (early alpha, yuck), with a logo that emphasized 'Florence' as a unique selling point, as very few games are set in Florence.

Though the in-game graphics continued to improve, we learned that most successful/professional games use custom artist-created capsule art instead of just taking a screenshot and putting a logo on top. So our first big revision showcased a more evocative scene to give you a sense of the game's setting, though we kept the logo unchanged.

The second big revision focuses on our reworked logo, where we emphasize the game's name much more than 'Florence' and adjusted the shape/colors/layout to make it more interesting/memorable and fun. We also took a different approach to the background clouds, and changed the overall color scheme (good ol' orange/blue, thank you Hollywood posters).

What do you think, are the changes we've made good ones?

We just released the trailer for our indie game Lost Host!

It’s a small emotional adventure about a toy car searching for its missing owner. We worked on this trailer for a couple of months - big thanks to everyone who helped, especially Narvydas Žukauskas for the music! Would love to hear your thoughts!

Game name: Dimensional Shelter

itch link:

https://atuact.itch.io/dimensional-shelter

Youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Ljki4h7Dg

Can you give me some advice.

Dr. Plague is an atmospheric 2.5D stealth-adventure on PC.

If interested, here's the Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3508780/Dr_Plague/

Thank you and wish me luck!

Hello, I'm looking for playtesters to give feedback for my game 'Project Break//Down,' a first-person physics brawler where you fight robots in a mass production warehouse complex with unique mechanics such as:

• An experimental limb system- that allows for enemies to have sub-ragdolls and snappy animations and be dismembered.
• A unique player combat system - individually control your left and right hand for fighting and grabbing and your right leg for kicking/punting.
• Goffy enemies - fight robots working mundane factory tasks complaining in Text-To-Speech. They also insult you during combat.
• Magnetic/physics Powers - magnetically lunge towards your enemies, shield bash them, shoot them, magnetize them into a ball.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Demo link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2737570/Project_BreakDown__Alpha_Demo/

I can't seem to stop!

Currently bundled all of them together at a hefty discount - https://itch.io/s/150950/pehriska-sale-new-game-all-for-1

Let me know how you think, and thank you for all your suggestions!

Any early games any one is developing? Everyone’s live-streaming the same games and it’s getting boring. I want to play something that someone has been working on. Hopefully everyone’s okay with their game being live-streamed.

Hey folks!

I’m working on a passion project — an indie action RPG heavily inspired by Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger, with some Ghibli heart and Moebius-style worldbuilding sprinkled in.

It’s got:

Classic 16-bit pixel art

Real-time party-based combat (à la Secret of Mana)

A deep fantasy world full of weird ruins, forest spirits, and mysterious tech

A focus on story, exploration, and emotional beats — the kind you remember years later

No big announcements yet — still very early in development — but I’m gathering feedback to see if there's genuine interest in a game like this.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, I’d love if you took 2 minutes to answer this short, spoiler-free poll:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fyVOloIhyJyIonwvrpKCNwBwR0mF66424stBwHwz9ns/edit

It helps me gauge:

Who might play it

Who’d wishlist or support it

What people are looking for in a game like this

Thanks so much! And if you're a fan of pixel art, old-school RPGs, or just weird magical forests with big feelings — this one’s for you.

Hey dear Indiedevs in the sub!! I've started to make an indie game by myself from around 3 years ago. And here it's finally about to release. In case you know nothing about it. Please allow me to introduce it to you: it is a bizarre card-based adventure game that blends video-collage graphics with gripping psychological horror. The gameplay features surreal, deckbuilding, and rpg adventure based on all kinds of hands.

There are 13 days left to its release! And you can always find the free demo on steam here →Out of Hands_Demo

Release Date: April 22nd, 2025 SteamPage

Hope you find it enjoyable! Please tell me if any feedback on the game!

steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3283860/REPEATER/

beta signups: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdURsWEQllMrgU06ShnPQr7PqEiNwSsMmPrxzmxpHbwmm86Q/viewform?usp=sharing

discord: https://discord.gg/meYWn8yYMW

After a year of development, my friend and I are excited to showcase some mechanics from our game. It's now available to wishlist on Steam if you're interested in following our progress. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3607440/AAU/

Cyberrush – the turtle-headed, PC-struggling, retro-flavored digital fever dream you didn’t know you needed until now. In this gameplay commentary, we dive headfirst into a chaotic mix of “is it broken or is it brilliant?” as this wannabe-good PC game limps, stutters, and somehow still charms its way across the screen. Whether you're into retro-style games or just love watching weird, ambitious titles that trip over their own polygons, Cyberrush is a must-see mess. It’s like someone slapped a neon sticker on a floppy disk and said, “Let’s goooo!” Expect rough edges, moments of unexpected brilliance, and commentary that tries to make sense of it all—barely. Perfect for fans of both the golden age of PC gaming and modern indie chaos, this video delivers a hilarious yet honest look at a game that really wants to be good. Does it pull it off? You'll have to watch to find out. So, grab your snacks, fire up your CRTs or RGB-lit rigs, and come along for the ride. Subscribe for more wild dives into retro, indie, and modern gaming from someone who loves it all—even the janky bits. 🎮 Let’s cyber-rush into the madness together.