IKEA takes legal action against horror game set in furniture store

The developer behind indie horror game The Store Is Closed has been instructed in a letter from lawyers at IKEA to remove visual similarities with the furniture store from the game. The game allegedly infringes on the Swedish company’s trademark.

The Store Is Closed is an unreleased horror game in which the player must survive in an ominous ‘infinite furniture store’. Both the successful Kickstarter project as the corresponding Steam page contain no references to IKEA. Nevertheless know Kotaku to report that the agreements with IKEA are too large according to the Swedish company. “Your game includes a blue and yellow logo with a Scandinavian name on the front of the store, a blue square building, yellow shirts with vertical stripes identical to the uniform of IKEA staff, a gray path that runs through the store, furniture that looks like IKEA furniture and product descriptions that resemble IKEA placards,” the developer was told.

In a statement to Kotaku, IKEA said it was flattered that the brand served as inspiration for a game, but that the company must be careful that “the IKEA trademarks are not misapplied.” The developer reports to the medium that he understands the requests of the furniture giant and that he will make adjustments to the game. He does emphasize that, among other things, ‘generic assets’ have been used for the furniture in the game. Anyone can purchase these in-game models and would have nothing to do with the furniture store.

It is not the first time that the well-known furniture brand has served as inspiration for a video game. The construction game Höme Improvisåtion allows users to build IKEA-like furniture, although the game leaves out literal references to the Swedish brand apart from the apparently Scandinavian spelling of the name. The Russian shooter Escape From Tarkov is a little less subtle with the IKEA reference; part of the Interchange folder consists of a furniture store that IDEA is called. As far as is known, IKEA has not filed any lawsuits against other game developers.