'We as the developers do not feel like we are being robbed by anyone': Drug Dealer Simulator developer says it 'would not pursue any legal actions against Schedule 1 in any shape or form' if it had its way
Byterunners, the developer behind Drug Dealer Simulator 2, has said it "would not pursue any legal action against Schedule 1 in any shape or form" if it was the one in charge of calling the shots.
In case you're not caught up, Schedule 1 has been popping off since it launched in late March. It's a game that's all about drugs: Making 'em, branding 'em, selling 'em, all that good stuff. Just a couple weeks after its release, it emerged that the Movie Games S.A., the publisher for Drug Dealer Simulator 2—another game that is also all about drugs, if the name wasn't already a dead giveaway—was launching an investigation against Schedule 1 into potential copyright infringement.
That news did not go down particularly well, to say the least, with Drug Dealer Simulator 2 being review bombed to all hell as a result. That was partly due to the fact many immediately jumped to the conclusion that DDS2 was suing Schedule 1 developer TVGS. Movie Games S.A. came out with a statement shortly after the review bombing began to say "There is no lawsuit," though that doesn't seem to have done much to assuage the slew of negative reviews pouring in.
The whole debacle has led to Byterunners itself coming out with its own statement, as noted by Windows Central. The gist of it is this: It doesn't own the IP and ultimately isn't in charge of making these decisions. But if it was, it wouldn't be doing this. Even if it does perceive some sort of resemblance between the two games.
"We want to state that, despite the fact that we do see many similarities between the games, and that some aspects of Schedule 1 were probably heavily inspired by DDS, we as the developers do not feel like we are being robbed by anyone," the statement reads. It continues to say that Schedule 1 "has its own vibe, freshness, and ideas that derive from the concept of DDS1, but expand on it and bring them in its own shape and style."
Byterunners says that games cribbing and taking different inspirations from each other is "abundant in game development," adding that "even if they sometimes cross a few lines [they] are, in general, a good thing for the industry and gaming as a whole."
The most important bit here is Byterunners' own stance on the entire investigation. "If we had a choice in this, we would not pursue any legal actions against Schedule 1 in any shape or form," the statement reads. "Considering we do not own the DDS IP, we do not have direct influence over the decisions surrounding the investigation or our publisher's policy; however, we have expressed our concerns and opinions to them directly."
Byterunners finishes up by saying it's been voicing its stance to Movie Games S.A. directly, adding: "We want this to end well for everyone and do not want anyone affected to face this kind of negativity, fear, or hatred. That's not why we make games, and that's not what we stand for."
I do feel for Byterunners here. Sometimes developer-publisher interests don't necessarily align, which already sucks, but it sucks even more when those differing views lead to your entire game getting pummeled into the ground by negative reviews. Even if it took a few jabs at Schedule 1's similarities here and there, it seems like Byterunners ultimately just wants the situation left alone, and I don't blame the developer for that.
Schedule 1 developer TVGS has continued to remain quiet throughout the whole debacle, which is probably the smartest choice right now. Situations like this aren't much fun for anybody, and hopefully the whole thing gets resolved sooner rather than later.