Bandai Namco Copyright Strikes YouTubers Showing Off Game Mods
I really cannot believe it's 2024 and there are still video game publishers out there that want to go to war on their own modding communities. I expect this sort of thing from the Nintendos of the world, but those that publish to the PC gaming market really need to stop it with this crap. Half the pleasure of gaming on a computer is being able to utilize fan-made mods for games. It's one thing if we're talking about mods that are used for cheating in online games, but it's entirely bewildering that companies would want to punish modding communities creating mods for offline, singe-player games.
Bandai Namco has done this sort of thing in the distant past, when it sent a legal threat letter to a modder for Dark Souls who's crime was making the game's graphics render better. Now a bunch of mod-makers are having YouTube videos receive copyright strikes, not claims, from a 3rd party rights enforcer for showing off mods for Tekken 8.
Multiple modders and creators are reporting they've been hit with copyright strikes on YouTube videos featuring Tekken 8 mods as well as some ways to download said mods removed too.
Users including modder UMIN and I AM OP plus potentially a few others shared posts online seemingly confirming their Tekken videos had been taken down in one of the most severe fashions. These are not Content ID or copyright claims. They appear to be getting hit with full on copyright strikes, which means if you get three of them in a short period of time, your YouTube account can be permanently banned.
Some channels reportedly have already reached that threshold, it seems. Most of the mods in question are for things like character costume changes and other purely cosmetic modifications. Why those have raised the ire of Bandai Namco, even as other such mods and videos have been left alone, is anyone's guess. In fact, some of the takedowns aren't even for videos showing mods, but purely gameplay videos.
Now, to be clear, these strikes were not issued by Namco directly, but by a 3rd party IP enforcement outfit called the Association of Copyright for Computer Software. That group has been responsible for copyright notices going out for Tekken content in the past, but nothing like the volume we're seeing now. There is no concrete way to know for certain that Bandai Namco has contracted ACCS for this type of enforcement, but it's hard to imagine how it could be otherwise.
Why is this happening now? We're back to speculating, but the best theory I've seen is that the company is worried about mods that might compete with DLC the company has for some of these cosmetic changes.
As to why this is happening now, we also don't really know that either, but some are postulating it could be a measure to try and reduce what Bamco may feel as competition to their official DLC costumes (or targeting people who may be making money from mods) - though again, nothing is confirmed.
Under Japanese copyright law, Bandai Namco can do this...but why? Is it really the case that these modders' work is so good that it will prevent the buying public from buying the company's DLC? If so, its DLC can't be all that good or worth the money.
But the overall question is why going this route is better than fostering a modding community that makes the game more attractive for purchase in the first place?