Only Up: A Popular Twitch Game Removed from Steam
Only Up, a platforming game that has gained immense popularity on Twitch, has recently been taken down from Steam. The game drew inspiration from titles such as Getting Over It and QWOP, as well as the Counter-Strike obstacle course map-making tradition. Its challenging gameplay, often resulting in failure, made it highly entertaining to watch. Despite its delisting, Only Up continues to be one of the most-watched games on Twitch.
The removal of Only Up from Steam came after artist Aboulicious filed a DMCA takedown request, claiming that the game had used assets, including a 3D model of a character, without permission.
Aboulicious explains, "The character on the left is the model I made for the game 'Only-Up' that was released this December. The character on the right is a model that was used for a commercial game. I made this model for non-commercial use only, and it is a complete violation of my licensing terms." Accompanied by an image comparing the two models, the artist's claim clearly highlights the alleged infringement.
In response to the takedown, SCKRgames, the developer of Only Up, tweeted, "Only Up is coming back soon." It remains uncertain whether the game will return to Steam with the disputed model removed or if it will be made available on other platforms.
Despite its removal from Steam, Only Up continues to attract a significant audience on Twitch. Before its delisting, the game had received mixed reviews on Steam, with some players reporting bugs and performance issues. Speculation has also arisen regarding Only Up's in-game NFT promotion; however, Steam's rules do not explicitly prohibit the mention of NFTs. To gain further clarity on the delisting, PC Gamer has reached out to Valve and SCKRgames for an explanation.
In the meantime, if you enjoyed Only Up, you might want to explore some other newly released games. Additionally, you can check out the best multiplayer games on PC or discover the current top-selling games on Steam.
