Stalker 2 Dev Gets Steam to Pull Copycat ‘Misery,’ Sparks Outrage and Apology

GSC Game World, the studio behind STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, has used a DMCA takedown to remove the Steam survival shooter Misery, alleging that the game copied key elements from the Stalker franchise. The move instantly wiped Misery from Steam’s storefront and triggered a wave of heated responses from its creator, and the broader gaming community.

DMCA Showdown: GSC Flexes, Misery Fires Back

The controversy kicked off when Valve received a DMCA notice from GSC Game World targeting Misery, which launched on Steam on October 23. According to Valve, staying compliant meant removing Misery entirely to avoid getting caught in a legal crossfire.

Misery is developed primarily by a solo creator, known as Maewing, who did not take the move lightly. In a strongly worded post, the developer insisted Misery has “nothing to do with the Stalker universe, Chernobyl, etc.” and makes use of no assets, plots, or music from GSC’s franchise. “It is all either originally created or legally licensed,” the statement read, adding: “We also think that this is an abuse of power against small independent developers by a large corporation, and it should not be a thing.”

Maewing argued that Misery doesn’t compete with Stalker 2, and took issue with what they saw as a double standard: “Of course, Misery was inspired by many things, including games, movies, and books, but filing a DMCA strike for that is wrong. We also want to remind GSC that their games draw heavily from Roadside Picnic and the Stalker movie by Tarkovsky, and they do not own the copyright on depressive Soviet-era buildings, playing guitar, vodka, radiation, or abandoned locations, or even the poo.”

Steam Delisting, Side-by-Side Comparisons, and Fallout

After Valve pulled the game, Misery’s developer tried to calm the flames in the public eye. They expressed confidence that the issue would be cleared up quickly, with Misery returning to Steam “very soon.” The team called the situation “very unfortunate and painful… both mentally and financially,” but promised development on Misery was ongoing and that updates would still be delivered on time.

But while Misery’s official statement refrained from targeting GSC’s developers personally, urging fans “do not insult them or other people in comments, especially for their nationality!”, private Discord chats painted a different picture. In a locked channel, the developer posted a string of offensive slurs about the situation, prompting swift backlash.

After these messages resurfaced, the creator issued a public apology: “Many are rightfully upset… What I wrote was immature, thoughtless, and wrong. It does not represent who I am today or what I believe in, and I deeply regret posting it. I do not support any form of extremism, violence, or discrimination against any group of people. As for the DMCA strike we will handle it calmly and professionally. There is no basis for it, and I believe Valve will review the situation fairly.”

Valve’s communication to the developer reportedly included side-by-side screenshots comparing both games: one matched a moody, Soviet-inspired urban landscape from Stalker: Call of Pripyat with an eerily similar setting in Misery. Another compared characters in gas masks playing guitar around a fire; a familiar motif from the Stalker series.

More Than Copyright: Community Divides and Accusations Fly

Speculation around GSC’s reasoning went into overdrive. Amateur sleuths on Reddit claimed to have found evidence that Misery reused assets from Stalker 2, though nothing official has been confirmed. Others suggested the strike was motivated not just by copyright, but by geopolitics, given that GSC is a Ukrainian studio, and some believe Misery’s developer, and segments of its fanbase, support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, GSC is keeping busy with its own plans. Earlier this year, the studio teased big updates for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, promising tweaks to the A-Life system, better Unreal Engine 5 performance, and new gadgets like advanced night vision. With Misery’s fate in Valve’s hands and emotions running high on both sides, the latest episode proves there’s nothing simple about who really owns “Soviet gloom”, or the right to use it.