IKEA Tries To Sue Indie Horror, The Store Is Closed

While being stalked around by animatronic bears or being chased by a demonic train like Five Nights at Freddy's or Choo-Choo Charles might not sound like winning ideas for horror games, you only have to look at their success to see that thinking outside of the box can pay off in spades. So, the idea of navigating a haunted IKEA has the potential to win us all over.

Sorry, we should clarify that, The Store is Closed is definitely not a game set in a nightmarish IKEA. Well, at least not now. The Swedish furniture giant has apparently issued the game's developer with a cease and desist, which means The Store is Closed is having to be massively reworked.

Why Is IKEA Trying To Sue The Store Is Closed?

Posting on Twitter, developer Ziggy explained, "IKEA's lawyers contacted me about The Store is Closed. I was going to spend the last week of my Kickstarter preparing an update for all the new alpha testers. But now I've got to desperately revamp the entire look of the game so I don't get sued."

Although The Store is Closed doesn't use IKEA's name or branding, legal firm Fross Zelnick claims it's infringing the store's copyright - now giving the UK-based developer 10 days to change the game or face legal action. When asked if The Store is Closed was made with IKEA "in mind," Ziggy said, "I bought generic furniture asset packs to make this game."

In IKEA's legal paperwork, it says, "Your game uses a blue and yellow sign with a Scandinavian name on the store, a blue box-like building, yellow vertical striped shirts identical to those worn by IKEA personnel, a gray path on the floor, furniture that looks like IKEA furniture, and product signage that looks like IKEA signage. All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an Ikea store."

When Could The Store Is Closed Release?

It's a pretty damning case that says even though gaming press might not have made the connection to IKEA, "further, numerous comments by readers of these stories make an association with IKEA stores." Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, The Store is Closed is now on Steam's wishlist with a TBA release date. Given how far along it was, we were hoping for an imminent release, but that's sure to have slipped following these legal troubles.

Ziggy saying it will have to completely rework The Store is Closed isn't a good sign. Speaking to PC Gamer, dev Jacob Shaw said he'd already started implementing these changes and will completely change the colour scheme. However, he also told the site, "It makes me very nervous of changing the colour scheme to something else. What if Target sues me for using red?" We guess there won't be any Swedish meatballs on sale in The Store is Closed