It's Time for Real Change

SteamWatch - Hidden Cats Fallout Expands

This article serves as an update to our previous coverage of the ongoing 'Hidden Cats' trademark dispute. If you’re not familiar with the story, I recommend reading our earlier article first:

SteamWatch - Steam Enforces "Hidden Cats" Trademark - Indie Developers Forced to Rename or Risk Removal

For those who want the brief version: NukeArts secured a U.S. trademark for 'Hidden Cats' and submitted infringement complaints to Steam against a number of other developers using that wording, or similar wording, in their game titles. Several developers were then told by Steam to change those titles or risk removal from the store. As argued in our original article, the practical effect of that enforcement is harmful to smaller developers, harmful to consumers, and damaging to the wider hidden object game space.

Since that article went live, a number of further developments have emerged. Some relate directly to Steam’s moderation systems, some relate to the wider legal picture, and some simply reflect how strongly this issue has resonated with players and developers alike.

Before getting into the update itself, I want to say thank you to everyone who engaged with the first article.

One of the things I try to do with Sentinels of the Store is highlight stories in the indie and lower-visibility space that are often ignored elsewhere. This story clearly struck a chord. The response to the article was one of the biggest we’ve had, and what was particularly encouraging was seeing the comment section turn into a genuinely useful resource.

A number of members helped catalogue affected developers, track renamed games, and warn studios that may not yet have realised what was happening. Others went out of their way to support affected developers directly by buying games and leaving words of encouragement. That kind of community response matters.

Whatever happens next with this dispute, the first article did at least help get the issue into the open, and many of you played a direct role in that.


One of the most visible follow-on effects of the dispute has been the wave of negative user reviews left across NukeArts’ games.

A number of users chose to use Steam reviews as a form of protest against NukeArts’ conduct. My own position remains the same as before: the best response is still to support the affected developers directly. That is the clearest and most constructive way to send a message. At the same time, it's understandable that many users wanted to express their anger somewhere public.

Following that spike in negative reviews, NukeArts requested that Steam treat the activity as off-topic review activity. Steam has since applied the off-topic review notice across NukeArts’ titles.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4124880/Hidden_Cats_in_Christmas/?curator_clanid=40124497#app_reviews_hash

In practical terms, this means that Steam’s default review summary no longer fully reflects that wave of protest reviews, even though those reviews remain visible on the store pages themselves. Some users have described this as censorship. I understand why they feel that way, but I think the picture is more complicated than that.

The reviews haven't vanished. They're still there, and the off-topic marker itself arguably draws more attention to the fact that something unusual happened. Users can still inspect the review graph, see the isolated review activity, and read the reviews for themselves. So while the protest has been partially filtered out of the default score, it hasn't been erased.

I also want to quickly address a suggestion I saw in the original comment thread: deleting and reposting a review doesn't appear to get around the off-topic system while the review-bomb period remains active. As things currently stand, reviews made during that flagged period are still being treated as off-topic. That may change when Steam eventually closes the review-bomb window, but for now the filter appears to remain in effect.

While on this subject, this is also a good opportunity to highlight our Sentinels Network curator Review Bomb Tracking, run by SirViolentDeath, who also occasionally writes for Sentinels of the Store. The curator catalogues games that have been marked for off-topic review activity and provides short explanations for why those flags were applied. It's an extremely useful resource for users who want context without having to dig through every individual review page themselves.


Another important development raised in the comments of the first article concerns Europe.

While 'Hidden Cats' is already registered as a trademark in the United States, NukeArts has also filed for EU trademark protection. At the time of writing, that application is still in progress and remains within the period where third parties can submit observations.

Steam user ¥aeko highlighted this in the comments under the first article:

https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#basic/1+1+1+1/100+100+100+100/hidden%20cats

The filing process began in December, and the current opposition/observation window runs until April 27th. At the time of writing, no opposition appears to have been recorded publicly.

This is worth noting because, unlike the U.S. registration, this application has been spotted while it is still being examined. That means there is at least some opportunity for relevant concerns about descriptiveness or registrability to be placed in front of the EUIPO before the process is complete.

To be clear, this isn't an internet petition and it isn't simply a matter of saying you dislike the trademark. Any submission would need to be grounded in an actual legal argument. I'm not giving legal advice here, and I'm not instructing anyone to file anything. I'm simply noting that this route exists, that it has been identified by members of the community, and that the deadline hasn't yet passed.

I did make some informal enquiries of my own, and one practical point raised to me was that anyone choosing to involve themselves formally would likely need to do so under their real identity rather than an online alias. That alone will understandably put some people off. But because this dispute has implications beyond just one developer or one studio, it felt worth flagging that the EU side of this is still active and still unresolved.


That is where matters currently stand.

NukeArts still hasn't issued any public statement addressing the controversy. Community discussion continues. More affected developers and renamed titles have been identified since the first article. Steam’s off-topic review system has now become part of the story as well. And on the legal side, the EU trademark filing means this dispute is no longer just a U.S.-only point of interest.

We'll continue following the story.

If you want to stay up to date on this and other issues affecting the Steam indie scene, or report on some yourself and make your voice heard, please consider joining Sentinels of the Store and following our curator. We aim to advocate for consumers, developers, and a better overall experience on Steam.


Travellin Cats
Matt Roszak
Gemcraft Games
cdhy interactive
Very Very LITTLE Studio
Sons of Welder
Hidden Cats
NaipSoft
Faithy Games

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Special thanks to our Patrons Stefan, Caff, old_Navy_twidget, Luke, Nin-Nin, emigrant, Pocket and Ismael Luque. Keep an eye out over the next couple of weeks for an update on an extra benefit you’ll soon be receiving for supporting our work.

Check out our Linktree for our various pages![linktr.ee]

Join our Discord server.[discord.gg]

E-mail me: mellowonline1@gmail.com

Be sure to check out the other groups in the Sentinel Network:

Summit Reviews
Charity Games
Review Bomb Tracking
Games With Paid Reviews
Dr Chopper's Neuro Clinic