Gaming Industry News:
"Only Up" is the newest "Getting Over It" clone dominating Twitch, and since the Steam Summer Sale just began, you might be itching to get your hands on it for some easy stream viewership. Well, I'm afraid to tell you that's no longer possible because "Only Up" was just removed from the Steam store, which is unfortunate for the developers because the game recently became a viral hit, being the fifth most-watched game on social media, behind Diablo 4. Also unfortunate because if the Steam page is ever restored, people will probably have already forgotten that this piece of game ever existed.
Asset Controversy:
Many point to stolen assets as being the reason for the game's removal from Steam. Just yesterday, on June 29th, an artist commented on Twitter that his 3D model had been stolen and used without his permission in the game. After SC KR Games, the developers of "Only Up," heard the complaint, they patched the game to remove the model on the same day. An "Only Up" dev remarked in their Discord they had a "misunderstanding" with the asset, and that they apologized to the author. But this asset was marked as "not for commercial use." To be fair, it was a misunderstanding; they thought they could steal without repercussion, but they misunderstood. Now, the question is, how many of these misunderstandings did they have with all of the other random assets used throughout their game?
NFT Allegations:
For context, let me introduce reluctantly Goblin Town, the next NFT that no one gives about. "Only Up" has a subtle link with Goblin Town. Well, maybe not so subtle. Goblin Town assets are plastered throughout the game. The game is essentially a marketing campaign for these NFTs. Yet, in the very same message that the devs explain the removal of the artist's asset, they insist that the NFTs in the game are just graffiti, bro, completely denying any link to Goblin Town. Meanwhile, the pinned message on Goblin Town's Twitter account is announcing a new line of merch. Yeah, it's the Goblin Town-Only Up crossover that we've all been waiting for. But the devs will lie to people's faces and claim their game has no link to NFTs whatsoever.
Industry Commentary:
The best part is this: hundreds of thousands simultaneously watched the game on Twitch, speedrun world records average over a million views on YouTube. The game couldn't have been a greater success, yet still, no one cares about the NFTs. Goblin Town has been on a steady decline over the last year. While there was a recent bump in the price, the NFT's floor prices peaked at 7.35 Ethereum in June last year and are now 0.23 Ethereum and dropping, soon to be non-existent. Heartbreaking stuff. But with their track record for honesty, these devs might have a bright future ahead of them as politicians. Although that might be giving them too much credit.
Conclusion and Reflection:
Now, as I was making this blog, The Game's Steam page has been restored, but I just wanted to publish this blog because I think it might be something kind of important to talk about, and it's really funny either way. I'll see you in the next blog with some more Hollow Knight. Thanks for Reading, bye!.
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