Itch.io back online after temporarily takedown by "bogus phishing report" from Funko
UPDATE: Funko says its takedown request targeted a specific page, not the entire Itch.io platform
Original story, December 9 2024: The entirety of Itch.io was temporarily taken offline earlier today, but the site appears to have been restored.
Reports of the site going dark spread after a post on the official Itch.io BlueSky account claimed the problem was caused by Funko, the company behind the collectible Funko Pop figurines.
"...They use some trash 'AI powered' brand protection software called Brand Shield that created some bogus phishing report to our registrar, iwantmyname, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain," the post read.
However, at the time of writing, the site appears to be back and fully functional, suggesting the issue has been remedied.
It is unclear what Funko or Brand Shield found on Itch.io that triggered the phishing report.
Just last month, Itch.io took a stance on AI and introduced a new requirement that developers must declare whether their game was made using any form of generative AI, whether for graphics, sounds, text, code and so on.
Update, December 10 2024: Funko has released a statement via X, insisting its takedown request targeted a specific page on Itch.io rather than the entire site.
The company said that the page in question was "imitating the Funko Fusion development website." Funko emphasised that it "did not request a takedown of the Itchi.io platform, and we're happy the site was back up by this morning."
Funko added the page was identified by one of its brand protection partners, but did not specify which not did it respond to Itch.io's suggestion that it was "some trash 'AI-powered'... software."
"We have reached out to Itch.io to engage with them on this issue and we deeply appreciate the understanding of the gaming community as the details are determined," Funko concluded.
Meanwhile, Itch.io confirmed via its own X account that the site had been restored, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz, and stressed that it did pull down the disputed page upon receiving Funko's notice.
"It's not worth fighting stuff like that," the team wrote. "Regardless, our registrar's automated system likely kicked to disable the domain since no one read our confirmation of removal."