WotC WotC (Mistakenly) Issues DMCA Takedown Against Baldur's Gate-themed Stardew Valley Mod

Wizards of the Coast recently issued a DMCA takedown notice against Baldur's Village, a popular fan-created Stardew Valley mod which was based on Baldur's Gate 3.

Created by a modding team called Nexus Mods, the mod featured BG3 characters such as Astarion and Shadowheart, 20+ NPCs, and various locations and events. The mod, which has had over 4,000 downloads, took over a year to make, according to the team, and garnered praise from Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larion, the company which made Baldur's Gate 3, who also posted about the situation on Twitter:

“Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth. Imho they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property. Protecting your IP can be tricky, but I do hope this gets settled. There are good ways of dealing with this.”

The mod went into "moderation review" on March 29th. However, it seems this was a 'mistake'--WotC has since issued a statement:

"The Baldur's Village DMCA takedown was issued mistakenly—we are sorry about that. We are in the process of fixing that now so fans and the Stardew community can continue to enjoy this great mod!"

So, the mod is back again! To use it you need the have the Stardew Modding API, the Content Patcher, and the Portraiture mod.

This isn't the first time WotC has 'erroneously' issued takedown notices against fans. In August 2024, the company took action against various YouTubers who were previewing the then-upcoming 2024 D&D Player's Handbook. A few days later, after some public outcry, WotC reversed its decision.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

As long as apologizing when they get caught doesn't cost much in terms of sales.

There's cost and then there's cost, from Wizbro it's more of an excuse and misdirection than an apology. The only thing they're sorry for is getting called out / caught preforming unacceptable actions.

 

[Fandabidozi]

Could you imagine if 'defend it or lose it' was a real thing in this era of streaming D&D games.

"Welp, we didn't act ten years ago so I guess Matt Mercer owns mind flayers and Vecna now."

And all bad Billy Connelly impressions.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Yes.

Ok.

But hey, the arguments and sources provided here didn't convince you, neither did your own research . . . so why accept the truth of it now?

I think you are dismissive. I accept the truth. I just asked for sources. If that is forbidden, I apologize.

One person said: a few youtubers don't stand for all. So I assumed a few incidents don't stand for all pinkertons.

So my bad.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

They have a history of violent thuggery, so yes.


No, because it was incredibly obvious where the cards went. Since, you know, Cannon made a video about them. What needed to be investigated was how the cards got there, and if they were indeed stolen. Which they weren't. They were sent out by accident.


They didn't just ask. They threatened the couple.

Plus, the fact that WotC didn't get the police involves strongly suggests that they knew the cards weren't stolen goods.

So, what, you're saying that WotC knew they had multiple options and knowingly chose to take the one that would give them the worst PR? I mean, that suggests you think WotC is even dumber than I've been saying!

I think the one person of WotC who made that decision was quite dumb.

Never denied that.

But one person doing something for WotC makes whole WotC dumb. One person doing outright criminal things like shooting a rocket in a children bedroom does not make whole youtube dumb.

I get that now.

 

[billd91]

One person said: a few youtubers don't stabd for all. So I assumed a few incidents don't stand for all pinkertons.

Not really the same thing. The youtubers don't all work for the same corporation - youtube is just a medium for transmission of entirely independent people. Individual Pinkerton employees, however, represent the same company and the reputation of that company transfers down to the individual Pinkertons.

 

[Gradine]

#NotAllPinkertons

 

[Faolyn]

I think the one person of WotC who made that decision was quite dumb.

Never denied that.

But one person doing something for WotC makes whole WotC dumb. One person doing outright criminal things like shooting a rocket in a children bedroom does not make whole youtube dumb.

I get that now.

So it's only one person at WotC who did that? I don't think you thought this through, because this makes things a lot worse.

This one individual--we'll call him Bob[1]--failed to get approval by either WotC's (or Hasbro's!) legal and financial departments but still spent company money to pay for the Pinkertons to find and intimidate Cannon and his wife into giving up the cards, which Cannon had legitimately paid for.

([1] In my college games, unimportant NPCs were always called Bob Until Further Notice if the GM needed to come up with a name in a hurry. If someone named Bob works for WotC or was involved in this debacle, that's entirely a coincidence)

So I'm sure that WotC then fired Bob for misusing company funds in a way that caused a major PR issue that's continuing to have repercussions even now. Or at least, forced Bob to make a public apology, stating that he was acting on his own without the company's knowledge or consent. Right?

No? Well, if Bob was truly acting on his own, and WotC took no actions against him, then how can you ever trust WotC again? Their company is so badly run that anyone could be using their money for anything! It's the Wild Wild West in there.

Or--and hear me out--WotC, as a company, made some really stupid decisions, and then offered their typical "mistakes were made" non-apology when they realized their customers were really unhappy with that decision.

Also, somebody filming themselves doing something illegal and posting it to youtube is completely different. Youtube is a hosting platform. Unless they actually paid this person to fire a rocket into a house, the worst they can be accused of is not taking the video down fast enough--and even that's because they have to wait until the video gets flagged for whatever reason, because it's not like they hire people to watch every single video that gets posted.

Edit: Welp, UngeheuerLich blocked me.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Not really the same thing.

I know.

The youtubers don't all work for the same corporation - youtube is just a medium for transmission of entirely independent people. Individual Pinkerton employees, however, represent the same company and the reputation of that company transfers down to the individual Pinkertons.

And the actions of everyone go up.

But quite a few youtubers still have something in common. Doing things for clicks.
Even if they are not technically employed by youtube, their algorithm encourages them to do anything for more clicks. That pays their bills.

 

[Chaltab]

I know.

And the actions of everyone go up.

But quite a few youtubers still have something in common. Doing things for clicks.
Even if they are not technically employed by youtube, their algorithm encourages them to do anything for more clicks. That pays their bills.

The complicity of youtube in platforming awful people is rather beyond the scope of this thread, but it's difficult to overstate how much of a bad look it is that WOTC hired a company known for being so brutal that the US Government made it illegal for themselves to hire them.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

The complicity of youtube in platforming awful people is rather beyond the scope of this thread, but it's difficult to overstate how much of a bad look it is that WOTC hired a company known for being so brutal that the US Government made it illegal for themselves to hire them.

You mean the Anti-Pinkerton act of 1893?
Which in 1977 was deemed to have little application to the current organization?

That is what i found on wikipedia thanks to your input. Also that in the late 19th century they were a quasi military force to hire for strikebreaking.

Or is there anythimg I missed?