Stuck in the Mud: How a Tiny, Beloved Driving Game Sparked a Bizarre, Decade-Long Feud

ign.com:

Back in June, fans of 2014 physics-based driving game Spintires encountered a frustrating problem when the game was suddenly and mysteriously removed from Steam. It was reinstated not long after and then, just a few days later, removed again. It hasn’t returned since, and fans have been left in the dark as to whether they’ll ever be able to download, update, or share their beloved driving games with others ever again.

The reason for Spintires’ disappearance appears, on the surface, to be a series of DMCA takedowns filed by Saber Interactive (formerly S3D), the publisher of Spintires sequels MudRunner and SnowRunner. Articles from June detail a long, exhausting battle between the two companies, with Saber issuing repeated legal challenges in what Oovee claims is an effort to frustrate and financially ruin the small UK publisher.

But the truth is far, far more convoluted than a simple David and Goliath match-up. Over several months of investigation into the two companies’ histories, legal documents, employees, and claims, I’ve uncovered a messy, complex feud over a decade old that involves years of stolen assets, allegations of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties on both sides, expensive cars, game development time bombs, possible shell companies, vanishing game developers, and a number of still-unanswered questions about the history, ownership, and fate of the little off-road driving game.

At the heart of it all is a tiny game largely made by an individual who loved watching big trucks drive through harsh, muddy terrain and wanted to share that love with the world. And while that love may have spawned a successful, beloved franchise of games, the future of all three may now hinge on a tense and mysterious legal battle