Funko has issued a statement regarding the temporary shutdown of Itch.io, allegedly caused by their brand protection software, BrandShield. The company emphasized its respect for the indie gaming community and clarified its role in the incident.
Funko's Statement and Private Discussions with Itch.io
Funko's official X (formerly Twitter) post highlighted their appreciation for indie games and developers. They acknowledged that BrandShield flagged an Itch.io page mimicking the Funko Fusion development website, resulting in a takedown request. Crucially, Funko stated they did not request a full platform takedown and expressed relief at Itch.io's swift restoration.
Funko confirmed they're in direct communication with Itch.io to address the situation and thanked the gaming community for their understanding.
However, Itch.io's owner, Leaf, provided a more nuanced account on Hacker News. He described the action not as a simple takedown request but as a "fraud and phishing report" sent to both the hosting provider and registrar. The registrar's automated system responded by taking down the entire domain, despite Leaf's immediate action to remove the offending page. Leaf also noted, in contrast to Funko's statement, that Funko's team contacted his mother.
For further details on the Itch.io shutdown, please refer to Game8's previous coverage.
