The crowdfunded fan-made game River City Ransom: Underground has been removed from Steam, and it’s not because the game is fan-made. On the contrary, the game is an officially-licensed title, and its been the recent target of a composer looking to extort former employers.
The composer in question is Alex Mauer, who is, to be extremely brief, a mentally unstable individual if their past history of extorting and endlessly shutting down YouTubers and Twitch streamers of games with music she composed is anything to go off of.
Now, she’s managed to shut down the Steam page for River City Ransom: Underground.
An official statement was posted over on the River City Ransom: Underground Steam board by Conatus Creative QA Lead Andrew Merrit.
“We are aware that RCRU is down on Steam. We have contacted Valve’s copyright department, and will let you know when access is restored,” Merrit said in the update. Naturally, this doesn’t mention the wide swath of video creators that have received DMCA complaints for videos they made showcasing the game.
If we go a bit further without delving too deep into the insanity, this is likely Mauer lashing out at any project she was involved with, after the developers behind Starr Mazer DSP had to literally file a restraining order against them (after trying to amicably resolve the entire debacle with Mauer).
Conatus Creative did touch upon the huge number of DMCA complaints hitting videos for Underground. The developer clarified this over on the game’s Steam forums, noting:
“Alex Mauer produced, in collaboration with others, works for RCRU as a sub-contractor, and Conatus believes that it possesses the legal right to use those collaborative works in the game.”
This is the opposite of what Imagos did when they offered to let Mauer keep all the music she did, opting to record an entirely new soundtrack instead. It’s also worth mentioning that Mauer was able to get Starr Mazer DSP removed from Steam as well, however it was reinstated later.
As for the words “mentally unstable” being used here – Mauer was previously taken into custody “for her own safety and the safety of others.” She could use the “insanity” plea in court for the restraining order put against her, as YouTube SidAlpha pointed out.
You can still find River City Ransom: Underground over on GOG and the Humble Store.
