Superman Game Demo Has Been Stolen And Is Being Sold For $11
An Unreal Engine 5 Superman game got some great responses from fans on Steam - but they didn't know it was stolen from a free demo.
15th Nov 2022 11:25
Cartoon Network | Toybox Games
Superman Game Demo Has Been Stolen And Is Being Sold For $11
An Unreal Engine 5 Superman game got some great responses from fans on Steam - but they didn't know it was stolen from a free demo.
15th Nov 2022 11:25
Cartoon Network | Toybox Games
Steam may be a great platform for gamers on PC, but that doesn't mean it's entirely clean. Even when you brush offenders like Sex with Hitler 3D aside, there's a lot of shoddy workmanship on sale under the masquerade of early access.
Some developers are making big promises with their projects that are mere broken tech demos built in Unity.
It's hard not to love the platform, but damn, it needs a little bit of quality control. And that goes especially for the most recent case of blatant theft.
What Is The Open-World Superman Game?
Earlier this year saw the popularity of a Superman-themed tech demo built in Unreal Engine 5. It then swirled around Steam with an $11 price tag - and fans loved it.
What they probably didn't know, is that the title was stolen from game developer Tyson Butler-Boschma's Toybox Games, who was offering the game for free. Instead, it was being sold on Steam without permission.
After the developer campaigned for the game to be pulled from Steam, the demo's thieves at Hero Game Studios reportedly banned him from their discussion boards - citing "hate speech" as the reason for his silencing.
The demo includes a Superman model, complete with his ability to fly around the city landscape found in The Matrix Awakens. However, it was taken by the Steam account and renamed Heroes City Superman Edition.
Heroes City Superman Edition Has Been Pulled From Steam
It's an alarming turn of events - but thankfully, there's some justice. After two long weeks of campaigning from Butler-Boschma, the stolen game was finally pulled from Steam.
It certainly isn't perfect, with the developer's name being besmirched while the game was live, and with no promise of any payment for him. At least players aren't funding someone who isn't actually creating the game they're publishing.
This is a problem that could be more widespread than we know, which is cause for alarm. Still, this is one story that has been brought to a close.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
