Ready or Not pulled from Steam after adding nightclub shooting level
Update: Game is now back, developer Void Interactive said the removal was due to a "suggested trademark infringement"
Update, June 20, 2022: Ready Or Not is back on Steam, after developer Void Interactive said the removal was due to a "suggested trademark infringement."
In a post shared on Twitter on Saturday, the studio said that it wanted to "address rumours" and explained that a takedown request was issued via Steam after it added the stage featuring a mass shooting at a night club.
While it didn't explain what trademark was infringed, Void Interactive said that it takes "IP concerns very seriously" before adding: "In a show of good faith, we have decided to remove the subject materials and any reference to them from Ready or Not and from any of our social media and other publications."
Players on social media have suggested that the name of the night club in the update was similar to a UK chain.
Later that day, the developer confirmed that Ready Or Not was back on Steam.
Original story, June 17, 2022: Tactical shooter title Ready or Not has been temporarily delisted from Steam, a week after it added a stage featuring a mass shooting at a night club.
As reported by NME, the level was added on June 12, the anniversary of the 2016 mass shooting targeting LGBTQ+ attendees at the Pulse night club in Orlando, Florida.
In a Twitter post, Ready or Not developer Void Interactive acknowledged the game was delisted but did not explain why, and said it will provide an update soon.
NME went on to add that although the reason for the shooter being delisted is unknown, Valve has removed games in the past for depicting violent real world events.
This isn't the first time that Void Interactive has found itself in the news regarding content within Ready or Not.
In December 2021, the developer stopped working with publisher Team17.
It did not say why the companies agreed to part ways, but the split happened days after the developer said a future mission would depict a school shooting situation.
Valve did not immediately respond to GamesIndustry.biz with regards to whether Ready or Not was pulled due to the nightclub content.
Additional reporting by Marie Dealessandri