IKEA has sued the creators of a horror video game

IKEA’s lawyers have sent a cease and desist letter to an independent developer creating a horror game set in a “infinite furniture store”.

Ikea has told Ziggy, a one-man studio formed by developer Jacob Shaw, that the store in The Store is Closed it’s too similar to the Swedish firm’s real-life furniture stores.

According to the letter, which has been read and verified by KotakuShaw was given 10 days to “change the game and remove all traces associated with the famous Ikea stores.”

The game currently has a Kickstarter campaign, which has raised $61,700, more than its goal of $11,605, with three days remaining.

The Store is Closed’s Kickstarter is almost half funded!!https://t.co/BDaVHG3KC5 pic.twitter.com/05CBunzTKe

— Ziggy (@ZiggyGameDev) September 6, 2022

The letter provided Shaw with a list of what he considers to be infringing on Ikea’s trademark. “Your game uses a blue and yellow sign with a Scandinavian name on the store, a blue box-shaped building, yellow shirts with vertical stripes identical to those worn by Ikea staff, a gray path on the floor, furniture that looks like Ikea furniture, and product signage that looks like Ikea signage,” it reads.

“All of the above immediately suggests that the game takes place in an Ikea store”. In an interview with Kotaku, Shaw disputed claims that the game’s furniture “looks like Ikea furniture.”

“I bought generic furniture asset packs to make this game,” he stated. “I don’t know what that means”. The lawyers’ letter tells Shaw: “Of course, you can easily make a video game set in a furniture store that doesn’t look like or suggest an IKEA store.” He adds: “You can easily make changes to your game to avoid these issues, especially since you don’t plan to release the game until 2024.”