Itch.io has been the go-to source for unique indie games for years. With over a million titles, many of which are fantastic, the platform has helped games like Celeste, A Short Hike and Vampire Survivors gain traction.

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However, the platform has been offline for the past few hours and the company said a “false phishing report” from Funko was to blame.

Itch.Io taken offline by Funko Dispute

In a statement shared via its official Twitter account, itch.io said:

“I kid you not, @itchio was removed from @OriginalFunko because they use some stupid “AI-powered” brand protection software called @BrandShieldltd that created a fake phishing report to our registrar @iwantmyname, who simply ignored our response has deactivated the domain.”

The company, which regularly raises money for charities, added:

“Also, for the sake of transparency, we deleted the controversial page as soon as we received the notice because it is not worth fighting against such things. Regardless, our registrar’s automated system likely deactivated the domain because no one read our confirmation of removal.”

It’s likely a major blow to Itch and its thousands of developers who rely on the market as a source of income. It’s clear the company is working to restore the site, but since the process appears to have been completed through automation and it’s the middle of Sunday night in the US, there’s no indication when it will be back online.

This is not the first time the marketplace has taken place involved in website related issues. In 2022, Itch accused a crypto site of stealing its code, which W3itch.io later admitted to.

This story is developing and we will update it as more information becomes available.

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