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Stardew-like Roots Of Pacha removed from Steam after the developer and publisher disagree “over the rights"The Stone Age farming sim had a successful launch late last month
The Stone Age farming sim had a successful launch late last month
Image credit:Soda Den
Image credit:Soda Den
The up-and-coming farmlife indieRoots Of Pachahas been pulled from Steam, following a dispute “over the rights” of the game between developer Soda Den and publisher Crytivo. The game is a prehistoric take onStardew Valley’s crop-growing, dungeon-exploring, people-romancing formula. ItsPAX East demo caught our eyeearlier this year, and the full release late last month charmed many fans on Steam for the short time it was available.
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“We are sad to report that we have been engaged in a dispute with Crytivo over the rights to Roots Of Pacha,” developer Soda Den saidon Twitter. “We worked hard to amicably resolve our issue with Crytivo internally,” the statement continues, “Instead of working with us to address the issue, Crytivo went to Valve and authorised them to remove Roots of Pacha from Steam without our knowledge or consent.”
Publisher Crytivo replied to the situation a few hours later with their own statementon Twitter, accusing the developer of abruptly cancelling their contract a couple of days after a successful launch. Crytivo were apparently involved with the project - “providing support and guidance” - for the last three years.
Crytivo’s statement reads: “On April 27th, just two days after a successful release, we received an unexpected message from the Soda Den team, informing us they were claiming to unilaterally rescind the contract we had worked under for three years, treating it as void.” That would essentially nullify the revenue-sharing agreement set out before release.
Crytivo say they’re working closely with all parties - including Valve - to ensure Roots Of Pacha returns to storefronts. Meanwhile, Soda Den say they’re “cautiously optimistic” about its return while they continue to work on the game and its post-launch roadmap.
Roots Of Pacha is no longer available for purchase anywhere, but its launch trailer (embedded above) shows off how weird (and fun) the Stardew-like can be. The RPS Treehouse has been awaiting the game since the Stone Age, so hopefully the situation doesn’t get any messier.
