Developers of the cozy farming sim Starsand Island have pulled the game from Steam after discovering an unauthorized Tetris clone in one of its minigames. Seed Sparkle Lab cited insufficient verification during planning as the reason for the self-imposed removal. A new version of the game appears ready for release.
The Steam store page for Starsand Island, a cozy RPG farming simulator developed and published by Seed Sparkle Lab, disappeared overnight on April 9. Accessing the page now redirects users to Steam's homepage, as first spotted by GameSpark. The game's official X account announced the removal, attributing it to “insufficient verification during the planning stage of a minigame” and “expressions from external works” used without permission from rights holders, prompting emergency measures by the developers. Fans on Reddit's r/Starsandisland subreddit identified Starblock, an arcade minigame within Starsand Island, as the issue. Footage shared on YouTube shows Starblock replicating key Tetris elements, including exact tetromino shapes, the ghost piece mechanic, and the 10×20 playfield. A 2012 court ruling in Tetris Holding, LLC and The Tetris Company v. Xio Interactive, Inc. established that while Tetris-like games are permissible, copying these specific protected features is not. SteamDB depot updates indicate a revised version of Starsand Island is prepared, though no return date has been confirmed. The game has faced prior controversies.
