Japanese indie developer Daikichi has been blocked by Steam from releasing a demo for Wired Tokyo 2007 because it allegedly infringes on third-party intellectual property. The assets in question are from board games that Daikichi himself created. The developer resubmitted the demo with a self-granted permission document after failed attempts to prove ownership.
Daikichi, the creator behind Wired Tokyo 2007—a vertical 3D action game set for release in 2027—prepared to launch a playable demo on Steam. The demo, which includes a full third of the game, was halted when Valve flagged screenshots containing board game objects from Second Best and Dinostone as potential third-party IP infringements. Despite Daikichi owning the copyrights, Steam support demanded license agreements or legal opinions to verify ownership, which proved challenging for the solo developer without a lawyer or budget for one. (98 words so far, continuing for detail. Full count at end.)Daikichi shared his frustration on X, stating, “The motif of a board game I personally created in the past, placed within the game Wired Tokyo 2007, is getting caught by Steam's side as third-party intellectual property. It's not a third party – it's just me wanting to use my own intellectual property rights myself – so I have no idea what the meaning of this is at all.” He linked to a BoardGameGeek page listing himself as the developer of Dinostone and noted that evidence provided during the application process was insufficient. The demo remains listed as “coming soon” on Steam.Over the weekend of April 29 to May 1, 2026, Daikichi created and signed a document granting himself permission to use his own works, including the board games, and resubmitted it for review. As of May 4, 2026, he had received no response from Valve. The situation highlights the opaque nature of Steam's review process for indie titles.
