There are days when this job just blows my mind. Try to keep up here: Roblox has a hyper-popular game right now called Steal A Brainrot, which Fortnite’s Island Creator Program has copied with a game called Stealing Brainrots. There are, like, at least a dozen jokes that I could be making right now, but lawsuits are no laughing matter, so let’s just jump right in.
Steal A Brainrot was created by Spyder Games in collaboration with Speedy Simulator Gaming. Stealing Brainrots, on the other hand, is the work of one Thomas Van Der Voort. The latter arrived at the scene of one of the two most popular games-as-a-service sensations in the world roughly two months after the former’s own debut on the world’s other most popular games-as-a-service sensation, and Steal A Brainrot’s developers are decidedly miffed by just how blatantly Stealing Brainrots has pilfered a multitude of stuff from their brainrot-thieving endeavours.
Something-Something-Something Brainrot
Stealing Brainrots is hardly the only game to mimic Steal A Brainrot to some degree. I’m looking at TheGamer’s own codes coverage of similarly-titled indie splashes, and what am I seeing? Steal the Free Brainrot. Steal N Grow A Brainrot. Shoot and Catch A Brainrot. Look, if you’re a brainrot, you need to watch your cerebrum, because these people are coming for you with unsavory intent.
What makes Stealing Brainrots the target of Spyder Games’ ire, as best I can tell, is just how far Thomas Van Der Voort has gone with the copycat routine. I’m sorry for taking this long to source my article, but this really does feel like the right time to do it – credit to Nicole Carpenter over at Aftermath for bringing this lawsuit to light.
Brainrot will soon be made to take the stand, as Spyder Games lodged a formal complaint before a California court just this past Thursday. Aftermath has a direct link to that complaint, so really, please do give their site a click; they did a lot of the work here. Anyway, here’s the list of allegations. Van Der Voort’s game has been decried as mimicking:
- User interface elements;
- In-game objects;
- Artwork;
- Level design;
- Animations;
- Design aesthetics;
- Game pieces;
- The selection and coordination of game elements, colors, and shapes.
Copyright infringement is, thus, the name of the game here. Attorney Adam Starr, speaking on behalf of his client, Spyder Games, is doing his best to get court workers to grasp what in the heck is happening here. “The brainrots march slowly in a line down a red carpet that runs through the center of the arena of gameplay. Players capture the brainrots and take them to their base, which is like a mini jail on the edges of the arena, to earn virtual currency.”
As for the brainrots themselves, don’t worry. Starr clued me on this, because I had no earthly clue. They’re “based on silly internet meme characters.” Oh. I guess that helps explain the popularity.
Hundreds of thousands of people are playing Steal A Brainrot at any given time. For the record, Steal A Brainrot is, in fact, covered by copyright. So, don’t assume there isn’t precedent here. How much precedent? Boy, howdy. If I knew the answer to that, I’d be making a lot more money. Good luck, judge.
Roblox
- Released
-
September 1, 2006
- ESRB
-
Teen / Diverse Content: Discretion Advised,
In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact - Developer(s)
-
Roblox Corporation
- Publisher(s)
-
Roblox Corporation
