GameStop’s newly launched NFT Marketplace has been surprised by the presence of unauthorized indie games, and developers are very upset about the practice. According to media reports, Nathan Ello, author of the NiFTy Arcade compilation product, added games such as Worm Nom Nom, Galactic Wars and Rogue Fleet to the compilation, of which the authors of at least the first two did not give their approval.
Ello said he would only try to add open-source games that are approved for commercial use to his NFT collection, but apparently he hadn’t done enough homework beforehand. The copyright information for “Worm Nom Nom” is on the itch.io page, and its engine, PICO-8, requires users to get the creator’s approval before they can use it.
After being blocked, Ello offered to hand over all NFT revenue since July 15 – a total of $55,000 – to the original developers and to remove NiFTy Arcade from GameStop’s NFT marketplace. But the developers say these practices are not sincere enough and it’s too late. Kyrstian Majewski, the developer of Breakout Hero, said, “My game was taken and sold for money without my permission. Even if someone brought the money they got from the sale back to me, it was dirty money earned in the cryptocurrency market.”
Ello can’t continue to generate products in GameStop’s NFT marketplace until the licensing issue is resolved. But there’s also the rather serious issue that games that he has already sold and chained can’t be removed and taken to other NFT marketplaces to continue selling.
GameStop has also been questioned by many for failing to take measures such as taking down and screenshot takedown services in this case. GameStop has not responded to media inquiries.
