Funko has addressed the temporary suspension of the Itch.io indie game marketplace, reportedly triggered by its brand protection software, BrandShield. Let's examine Funko's statement.
Funko and Itch.io in Private Discussions
Funko's official X (formerly Twitter) account issued a statement expressing its respect for the indie gaming community. They confirmed that BrandShield flagged an Itch.io page mimicking the Funko Fusion development website, leading to a takedown request. Crucially, Funko clarified that they did not request a complete shutdown of Itch.io and welcomed the platform's swift restoration.
Funko stated they are now in direct communication with Itch.io to resolve the matter and appreciate the community's understanding.
However, Itch.io's owner, Leaf, provided a more nuanced account on Hacker News. He described the action not as a simple takedown request, but a "fraud and phishing report" sent to both the hosting provider and registrar. The registrar's automated system reacted by taking down the entire domain, despite Leaf's immediate action to remove the offending page. Leaf also noted (a detail omitted in Funko's statement) that Funko's team contacted his mother.
For further details on this event, please refer to Game8's previous report on the Itch.io outage.
