Key Takeaways
- itch.io was taken offline due to a “bogus phishing report” by Funko.
- The disputed page was removed promptly, causing inconvenience to developers.
- Uncertain timeline for the website’s restoration, impacting indie developers.
For years now, itch.io has been the place to go for unique indie games. Hosting over a million titles, many of which are fantastic, the platform has helped games like Celeste, A Short Hike, and Vampire Survivors find their footing.
Over the last few hours, though, the platform has been offline, with the company sharing that a “bogus Phishing report” from Funko is to blame.
Itch.Io Taken Offline By Funko Dispute
In a statement shared via its official Twitter account, itch.io said:
“I kid you not, @itchio has been taken down by @OriginalFunko because they use some trash “AI-Powered” Brand Protection Software called @BrandShieldltd that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, @iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain.”
The company, which regularly raises money for charity, added:
“Also, for transparency, we *did* take the disputed page down as soon as we got the notice because it’s not worth fighting stuff like that. Regardless, our registrar’s automated system likely kicked to disable the domain since no one read our confirmation of removal.”
It’s likely a big blow for itch and its thousands of developers who rely on the marketplace as a source of income. It’s clear the company is working to get the website reinstated, but as the process was seemingly completed by automation, and it being the middle of Sunday night in the US, there’s no indication as to when it will be back online.
This isn’t the first time the marketplace has been involved in website-related issues. In 2022, Itch accused a crypto site of stealing its code, something W3itch.io later admitted.
This story is developing, and we will update it as more information breaks.
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