Garry’s Mod receives a surreal takedown request over Skibidi Toilet

Skibidi is one of those viral phenomena that creates generational divides and reveals a sobering reality for some perceived young people, who suddenly realise they are not so young anymore (get used to that feeling!). The online sensation, with videos garnering millions of views, is largely made using assets created by Valve for Half-Life 2. These assets form much of the basis for the characters and settings seen in the zany videos by DaFuq!?Boom!, which are also produced using Valve’s Source Filmmaker.

The phenomenon has reached such a viral level that content for film and television, with Michael Bay as producer, has been announced, indicating a significant potential for further monetisation. However, a copyright lawsuit has reportedly emerged that could have unforeseen consequences for the future franchise, with Garry Newman being hit for allegedly using content that is said to be owned by DaFuq!?Boom!.

Valve to respond to Skibidi situ

Considering that the foundation of Garry’s Mod is precisely the Source assets created by Valve for Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, the idea that the creator of Skibidi can claim rights over them is, for lack of a better word, surreal. Outrageous, even. So much so that DaFuq!?Boom! himself had to come forward to state that he has nothing to do with it.

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However, it remains to be seen who sent that notice and for what purpose, what its trajectory might be, and what Valve’s reaction will be, if any. It could simply be one of many patent trolls and amount to nothing. But if it is someone representing Bay’s production company trying to stake a claim on their potential golden goose, we might be facing something very different with much more serious legal implications. It would indeed be amusing if Gabe Newell’s company had to come out and prove that the entire Skibidi phenomenon is built on content they created decades ago.

Has Garry’s Mod had other lawsuits?

This is not the first time that the popular machinima program created by Garry Newman has been attacked by DMCAs. Recently, Nintendo demanded that the Garry’s Mod developers remove all related content – more than 20 years’ worth of characters, objects, and scenarios that had been used without issue all that time.

Despite their doubts, the developers verified that the demand did indeed come from representatives of the Kyoto-based company and complied with the request. But doing the same with Valve’s content, which is also the producer of Garry’s Mod, is utterly absurd.