DoomRL,or Doom, the Roguelike is a bit of trouble at the moment. The title which is a top-down, turn-based roguelike title that takes cues from the first person shooter, Doom, has been available since 2013. The game has had a ton of success and is a fun game to boot and is a cool homage to the game while blazing its own path.
Well, the current owners of the Doom license, Zenimax, who acquired id Software back in 2009, aren’t too thrilled with it. In fact, they have requested that the DoomRL website be taken down. This letter below is what was sent to the creator of DoomRL, Kornel Kisielewicz, demanding the takedown of the website and properties via Twitter.
This follows a familiar tune as Nintendo has also been on a tangent as well (here), requesting several websites that host or link to fan-made titles that feature Nintendo properties to also be taken down. Understandably, Zenimax wants to protect its properties, which I’m sure everyone understands. Yet, with DoomRL being released back in 2013 and it being 2016 now, one has to wonder why of sudden is this being requested to be taken down.
No word on if the site will be taken down as of yet, though it may simply end up being a case of no choice given. Zenimax owns id Software, who owns the Doom license. So I suppose that sooner or later the site will be taken down or at least all references of e removed – which effectively removes the charm of the game. If you haven’t checked out the game, do it before it’s pulled.
That said, it’s a good time to mention Kornel Kisielewicz‘s upcoming project, Jupiter Hell. While I won’t spoil the beans about the game, I highly recommend you check it out.
It’s still a darned shame about what’s happening but 100% understood.
