Steam removes all Digital Homicide games after they sue 100 users.

[ImpulsE69]

I'm not sure I know any of their games or care, but it is nice to see Steam side with the users, although I think it has more to do with the quality of said games.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/steam-removes-digital-homicide-games-223337309.html

Here’s an easy way to get all your games removed from Steam: sue 100 users.

Indie developer Digital Homicide did just that, prompting Valve to remove all its games from the largest PC gaming platform on the internet.

According to court documents filed in Arizona and uploaded to Google Drive by YouTuber SidAlpha, Digital Homicide doesn’t take criticism lightly. The filings indicate that James Romine, one-half of the Romine Brothers, who are Digital Homicide’s development team, sued 100 Steam users, alleging personal injury claims arising from online comments posted by the defendants.

The documents show screengrabs of Steam commenters asserting that Digital Homicide routinely tried to game Steam’s system by submitting a massive volume of games to Steam Greenlight for cheap, hoping to get quick sales from leftover change in user’s wallets. Accusations in the comments also assert that Digital Homicide would reskin a game and re-release it as brand new.

In a statement released to Tech Raptor, Valve’s Doug Lombardi said “Valve has stopped doing business with Digital Homicide for being hostile to Steam customers.”

Interestingly, the court case is entitled “Romine vs Unknown Party.” This is because the Romines don’t know the names of the Steam users, so instead have chosen to list their usernames. They have also subpoenaed Valve to release relevant information on all 100 users in this lawsuit.

Steam Greenlight did remove Digital Homicide’s submissions once in the past — after the developer published eleven games on the same day.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the Romine Brothers’ first lawsuit. They famously sued popular video game YouTuber Jim Sterling earlier this year for $10 million in damages. The Romines in that case argued that whenever Sterling would criticize one of their games, his fans would go to Steam and add a barrage of negative comments.

It seems that Valve has decided to err on the side of its users. And considering how Valve has had to deal with Digital Homicide in the past, it would be safe to assume that this time, the Romines will be fighting an uphill battle.

 

[HeXen]

If they really cared, a full refund for customers that purchased those games would be expected. I'm still kind of ticked about a few games such as Nexius or Haunted House: Cryptic Graves. It's great Valve took it off of steam but could/should have gave me a refund because it wasn't even finished.

 

[ImpulsE69]

If they really cared, a full refund for customers that purchased those games would be expected. I'm still kind of ticked about a few games such as Nexius or Haunted House: Cryptic Graves. It's great Valve took it off of steam but could/should have gave me a refund because it wasn't even finished.

My guess is said users didn't have the games removed from their libraries as they don't usually do that...usually.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If they really cared, a full refund for customers that purchased those games would be expected. I'm still kind of ticked about a few games such as Nexius or Haunted House: Cryptic Graves. It's great Valve took it off of steam but could/should have gave me a refund because it wasn't even finished.

They already have a refund policy for up to X hours of playtime. It's up to you to read reviews and look at the (allegedly terrible) gameplay before that time is up.

It's good that Steam is removing a company that attacks Steam members, attempting to intimidate them into giving up their right to free speech. I'm no lawyer but from the Kotaku article I read on this the suit seems frivolous.

 

[shortylickens]

Maybe they should change it to Digital Suicide!


http://www.digitalhomicide.ninja/


Seeking Legal Representation


BAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!

 

[Stg-Flame]

This is hilarious.

 

[Sabrewings]

The most disturbing part of this to me is that a judge allowed a subpoena for those users' information and other reports are indicating Steam complied.

 

[jlee]

Maybe they should change it to Digital Suicide!


http://www.digitalhomicide.ninja/


Seeking Legal Representation


BAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!

Their whole front page looks like it was written by someone who is trying to look like a fancy writer...but he's clearly not.

The case will benefit from a long list of organized documentation of events that have happened over the past 2 years including dates, screenshots, emails, and more on over 100 infractions in need of litigation.

hahah...

 

[quikah]

If the comments they post on their page are representative of the what they are suing for and steam did not take any action after reports then they might have a case. Doesn't matter if their games are garbage, making death threats (even in jest) is not cool.

 

[dud]

"First i'd like to briefly respond to Doug Lombardi's official statement about Digital Homicide and its owners. I'd like to give some context to his offficial statement "Valve has stopped doing business with Digital Homicide for being hostile to Steam customers." What has actually transpired was a lack of resolution from Steam in regards to moderation of their platform which might sound like a tough job to do, but coming from a company that brags its profitability per employee is higher than google, it just shows a reckless disregard for for the well being of their community for profits. We submitted numerous reports and sent multiple emails in regards to individuals making personal attacks, harassment, and more on not only us but on other Steam customers who were actually interested in our products. The lawsuit that was submitted in regards to a handful of Steam users has been labeled by the media and now by Doug Lombardi's(a Valve representative) statement as "being hostile to Steam users" in general which is incorrect. The lawsuit recently filed is solely in regards to individuals where no resolution was able to be obtained from Steam to provide a safe environment for us to conduct business."

 

[DaveSimmons]

Hmm, but review fraud and ballot stuffing with keys-for-good-ratings is OK? Putting reskins of the same game into Greenlight multiple times is OK?

Valve's official reason is the suit against its users, but I'd guess DH's long-term misbehavior was a major factor in reaching that decision.

 

[Vivendi]

I don't know about this developer and how bad their games are but if users were making death threats against them and Valve took no action, that's a mistake on Valve's part.

 

[Rifter]

The most disturbing part of this to me is that a judge allowed a subpoena for those users' information and other reports are indicating Steam complied.

I agree

 

[Artorias]

The most disturbing part of this to me is that a judge allowed a subpoena for those users' information and other reports are indicating Steam complied.

Yeah what the hell is all that about?

 

[Newbian]

Yeah what the hell is all that about?

To be fair people have gotten sued over negative reviews on other sites before so it's really nothing new.