Facepalm: Ruthless companies are actively exploiting large language models and other AI products to automate highly sensitive vetting processes. Ventures operating in the brand protection space can provide significant value for companies, but they can also overstep boundaries, as the recent Allumeria case demonstrates.
Allumeria is a voxel-based sandbox game centered on exploration, boss fights, and dungeon raids. Although it is expected to enter early access soon, the indie title nearly disappeared from Steam due to what appears to be an overzealous AI bot.
Developer Unomelon recently announced that Allumeria would be featured during Steam's Next Fest, giving fans access to a playable demo after a year in development. Just weeks later, the game was removed from Steam following a DMCA takedown request reportedly sent by Microsoft to Valve. The company claimed that Allumeria was too similar to Minecraft and that Unomelon was infringing on its copyright.
On their official Discord server, the developer shared the email received from Valve. A representative named Judith Woodward reportedly requested that Valve remove Allumeria, citing alleged use of Minecraft content – including gameplay mechanics and graphic assets – without Microsoft's authorization.
Woodward was reportedly acting on behalf of Microsoft, but Unomelon offered a different explanation. The developer suggested that the takedown notice may have actually originated from Tracer.AI, a bot-based service that automates brand and content protection online.
Tracer.AI reportedly uses several AI-powered technologies – including machine vision and natural language processing – to quickly identify potentially infringing posts and pages on behalf of its clients.
Allumeria does bear a strong resemblance to Minecraft, a game so popular that it reignited interest in voxel graphics among a new generation of developers and block-obsessed players. Other recent games inspired by Mojang's hit include Hytale and Vintage Story, both of which are not available for purchase on Steam. According to Vintage Story developer Resetera, the DMCA request against Allumeria was unfounded, noting that the game doesn't even use the same programming language as Minecraft.
Ultimately, the AI bot – fueled incident was quickly resolved before Unomelon faced any serious consequences. Valve later contacted the developer to confirm that Microsoft had withdrawn the DMCA request. Allumeria's Steam page has been fully restored, with Unomelon describing the outcome as the best-case scenario, as they did not have to file a counterclaim or prepare for an actual lawsuit.
Minecraft clone Allumeria was kicked off Steam after an AI bot filed a copyright claim
