Minecraft, the titan of the gaming industry, has inspired a plethora of clones and voxel-based crafting simulations over the past 15 years. While many of these games have thrived without issue, a recent incident involving an upcoming title, Allumeria, has drawn attention to the complexities of copyright in the gaming world. Earlier this week, the developer, Unomelon, announced that their game was temporarily removed from Valve’s Steam platform due to a DMCA copyright notice from Microsoft.
The notice, which Unomelon shared on the game’s Discord server, claimed that Allumeria utilized “Minecraft content, including but not limited to gameplay and assets.” The takedown was triggered by a single screenshot from the game’s Steam page, depicting a world reminiscent of Minecraft with elements such as birch trees, tall grass, a blue sky, and pumpkins. While these features are indeed present in Minecraft, they are also commonplace in nature and various other games. Although Allumeria bears a resemblance to Minecraft, it does not appear to reuse any of its assets or cross the nebulous line between homage and imitation that many other titles have navigated successfully.
Hey everyone. The Allumeria Steam page is currently down because Microsoft has filed a false DMCA claim on it. They sent an email earlier today claiming that this screenshot infringes on their copyright. I am taking a moment to figure out what my path is going forward, will update soon. #gamedev — Unomelon (@unomelon.bsky.social) 2026-02-10T07:53:32.655Z
A glance at the game’s Steam page reveals a charming crafting simulator that strives to distinguish itself from its predecessor. The trailer, screenshots, and game description highlight features such as boss fights, loot collection, and an intricate cave system, all while promoting customizable decorations. It is intriguing that Allumeria faced this scrutiny when other titles, like the recently launched Hytale, which evolved from a Minecraft server and resembles a polished texture pack, have seemingly flourished without similar challenges.
Letting AI automate takedown claims
Unomelon revealed via Discord that the DMCA claim was generated through Tracer.AI, an AI platform designed to automatically identify and eliminate copyright violations. Microsoft and Mojang have previously employed this tool to target other voxel-based games, including a Roblox tech demo and various YouTube videos related to Minecraft.
While it remains uncertain whether the claim was made automatically or with intent, Jens Bergensten, Chief Creative Officer at Mojang, acknowledged the situation on Bluesky, stating he was unaware of the claim and would investigate further. Approximately 12 hours later, Allumeria’s Steam page was reinstated.
Microsoft has withdrawn their DMCA claim! The game is back up on Steam! Allumeria is back! Thank you EVERYONE for your support. It’s hard to comprehend that a single post in my discord would lead to so many people expressing support. Thank you <3 #gamedev #indiedev — Unomelon (@unomelon.bsky.social) 2026-02-11T05:17:45.843Z
Despite the resolution, players attempting to download the game’s demo are encountering licensing issues. However, this situation is preferable to the alternative of filing a counterclaim against the DMCA during the February 2026 Steam Next Fest, an event for which Unomelon was preparing.
“[The takedown] may help boost the game’s popularity, but it also comes with significant risk,” Unomelon shared with Kotaku. “Filing a counterclaim opens me up to a lawsuit which could be potentially devastating. So even if everything works out, I would still rather the DMCA takedown never have happened in the first place.”
As of now, Microsoft has not provided a comment regarding the incident.
