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Blizzard Allegedly Targeting Overwatch SFM with DMCAs

We dug deeper to find out


According to a number of sources, Blizzard, possibly through a different company, is issuing takedown notices for Overwatch. LewdGamer tried to find out more.

The DMCA is the bane of many creators. Fair use is a tricky subject to deal with – even large companies like YouTube struggle to enforce it properly. It’s hard to draw the line, and most websites simply have automated systems in place that leave many artists high and dry with no explanation.

Overwatch, the latest game by Blizzard, has had a lot of success within these creative communities. According to Pornhub, Overwatch saw an 800% increase in searches during its open beta. It’s clearly popular, though in Blizzard’s eyes, it may be for all the wrong reasons.


A few weeks ago, people began to catch wind of some serious changes in the Overwatch Rule 34 community. While nobody had come forward with hard evidence, there was chatter of takedown notices being issued to artists – particularly SFM animators. Many creators made statements on their blogs, with one user stating he planned to “lay low.” We caught up with him to find out just what was going on.

“The whole thing has reached absurd levels,” said Ellowas, a Source Filmmaker (SFM) artist who was recently hit with a takedown notice, “all of my stuff is gone already.” While Ellowas doesn’t feel Blizzard are being fair in their pursuits, he did concede that they were “well within their legal rights,” adding, however, that “on the other hand you can understand why people are upset.”

While Blizzard’s motivations remain a mystery, it’s likely that the publisher hopes to keep up appearances. Of course, as with all things, this can often lead to things blowing up even more than before.

“Blizzard can’t be naive enough to think that they can permanently put an end to Overwatch porn this way,” said Ellowas, “They must know that with the popularity Overwatch has gained by now.” This sentiment is being echoed among other artists, and with Blizzard’s actions now coming to the forefront, it’s possible this will have something of a Streisand Effect.


A number of other users have also been hit with takedown notices, with one in particular, hitting the news. A user going by the name “spornm” posted on Reddit a few days ago, where he detailed his experiences over the past week. In his post, spornm linked to both a takedown directed at him , and one to another user.

Interestingly, neither of these claims seem to link back to Blizzard. According to the second notice, a company by the name of Irdeto USA claims to be the copyright holder. Additionally, the admin of “overwatchhentai.netnoted that they had received a similarly styled notice, however, this time, the claimant was Easy Solutions.

While it’s impossible to draw conclusions from this alone, it looks as though Blizzard may be issuing notices through other organizations. According to Easy Solutions’ website , the company deals with fraud prevention and asset protection. Irdeto USA, the other named company, also offers similar services, in particular, the protection of digital assets.

Ellowas feels he knows why this might be happening. “I assume the porn industry can get away with their parodies, cause they change just enough to avoid claims […] we don’t.” Due to the nature of SFM, users can easily rip game assets right from the source. This means a lot content is created using the original models, which can complicate fair use.


“I think the fact that we are using game assets is making this a bit more complicated,” said Ellowas, who added that it “may provide more legal grounds to go after our content.” It’s unclear if this is also impacting 2D artwork, but from what’s come out so far it looks like Ellowas may be right.

For now, all that’s truly clear is that takedown notices are being issued, and if Blizzard is involved, they’re trying to keep their distance. Blizzard is still a reputable brand in the gaming industry, which could explain their reluctance to put that brand on the line. Hiring other, lesser known companies to make claims on their behalf keeps them out of the firing line, and keeps the brand intact.

Ellowas hopes this will all blow over. “Hopefully in a couple of weeks, everything will turn back to normal,” he said, as he felt this was all just a “ham-handed reaction to mainstream media coverage.” Pornhub’s analysis was well covered by mainstream outlets like Kotaku, which may have led to Blizzard taking notice.

We here at LewdGamer hope Ellowas is right once more, and that things can get back on track before too long. Overwatch is popular with the Rule 34 community for a reason, and Blizzard’s track record for not having things blow up in their face isn’t great. We’ll keep you posted.


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