The itch.io website is offline, the fault clearly lies with Funko.

In a tweet, the indie games marketplace claimed that Funko, best known for its Funko Pop figures, used “some fake AI-powered brand protection software” that sent what it called a “fake” phishing report to the Registrar of the website created.

I’m not kidding you, @itchio was dismantled by @OriginalFunko because they use some crap brand protection software called “AI-powered” brand protection software @BrandShieldltd This sent a fake phishing report to our registrar. @iwantmynamewho ignored our reply and simply deactivated the domain

– itch.io (@itchio) December 9, 2024

itch.io claimed that its registrar “ignored” its response and deactivated the itch.io domain, although it removed the undisclosed controversial page immediately after receiving the notice because such things are not worth fighting.

“Nevertheless, our registrar’s automated system likely deactivated the domain because no one read our confirmation of removal,” itch.io continued. “I hope you all have a nice Sunday evening.”

IGN has reached out to Leaf Corcoran, owner of itch.io, for comment.

The AI-powered brand protection software in question is BrandShield, which, according to its website, “detects and tracks online trademark infringement, counterfeit sales, and trademark abuse across multiple platforms: websites, social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, etc.),” ​​marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, etc.), paid ads and mobile apps.”

The implications here are significant; When itch.io is offline, all hosted projects are inaccessible, even to their owners. This goes beyond indie developers selling their games, with some using itch.io to host non-video game projects. One user replied to itch.io’s announcement tweet, saying that they had uploaded an assignment to the site: “And I made that my professor and if it’s not available they can’t give me a grade 🙁 “

itch.io replied that it was now waiting for a response from its registrar. “We have sent additional emails asking WTF to continue,” it said.

In a subsequent tweet, itch.io said it would “wait this out” and resist setting up a new domain. “In the meantime, if you know how to optimize your hosts file, use: 45.33.107.166,” it tweeted.

Wesley is the UK news editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].