Valve Corporation
Garry’s Mod is facing a DMCA over ‘Skibidi Toilet’ assets, but the videos’ creator claims he’s not to blame
In a surprising turn of events, the creator of Garry’s Mod received a DMCA notice over Skibidi Toilet assets in the game, but things are a bit more complex than they seem.
Love it or hate it, Skibidi Toilet is a thing now. The viral YouTube hit has spawned a series with heavy lore, toys, merchandise, a cult following, and a movie and TV series that is set to be produced by Michael Bay himself. Considering that the source is made completely with… well… Source assets through Valve’s Source Filmmaker, there was already some doubt about how that Hollywood adaptation would work. But now it seems like we’re getting a hint of that answer.
To the surprise of many, Garry Newman, the creator behind the extremely popular Garry’s Mod game that lets players mess around with Source Engine assets in a sandbox (with Valve permission), has revealed that he received a DMCA from the “skibidi toilet guys”, demanding a hefty sum of monetary compensation for the use of “their assets”.
“You know what’s worse than the Nintendo DMCA,” said Newman in the official S&Box Discord server where the Garry’s Mod community resides. “Skibidi Toilet guys sent a DMCA too. Serious. Can you believe the cheek?” The Nintendo DMCA mentioned by the developer is the recent case they had to face when he was ordered by the Japanese company to remove any and all assets and imagery of Nintendo brands and IP from the game, which were added by the community over the course of 20 years, in order to protect themselves from offensive use of their creations. On that occasion, Newman agreed to follow the DMCA, as he was well aware of the situation, and sought the help of the community to clean up the game’s servers.
But the thing here is that both Garry’s Mod and Skibidi Toilet use assets created by Valve for Half-Life 2, which are accessible by the public through the previously mentioned Source Filmmaker software. It would be insane for the creator of the YouTube series to go after Garry’s Mod because of this. And he himself has popped his head out the proverbial (Skibidi) Toilet to claim his innocence.
The Skibidi plot thickens
Alexey ‘DaFuq!? Boom!’ Gerasimov, the author of the Skibidi Toilet phenomenon on YouTube, found out about the DMCA just as everyone else when Newman posted about it. And he has since put himself in contact with the creator of Garry’s Mod to clear things up.
“Sup y’all,” he said in the S&Box server. “Is there a way to contact Garry? I did NOT strike Garry’s Mod and I’m trying to understand what else is written in the letter!”. It appears as though Gerasimov may have been caught unaware by the situation, but as of the writing of this article there is still no definitive answer as to what truly happened.
So what is really going on? While at first glance this would seem to be a fake DMCA issued in order to take advantage of the brand, Gerasimov seemingly posted more about the legal action that has taken place, hinting at a third party being behind these actions.
“I’m here to make it clear that I have NEVER tried to cause any harm to Garry and Garry’s Mod,” says a new message from DaFuq!?Boom! In the Discord server. Apparently, the document shown by Newman originated from the end of 2023, when it was revealed that characters created by the author where being exploited and used in NSFW content aimed at children through YouTube. “I and my team were struggling with removing many heinous NSFW YouTube videos and channels that were using Skibidi characters in a gross manner. And you know, as evident, YouTube report system just doesn’t work. This all still remains unprosecuted, fully monetized and available for all ages.”
The DMCA that was issued was made so not in behalf of the creator of Skibidi Toilet, but instead for an organization named “Invisible Narrative LLC”, which is related to INVIZ. This same entertainment company is now tightly related to Skibidi Toilet, as it was funded (and is actively run) by none other than Adam Goodman, the former president of Paramount Pictures. Who of course, alongside Michael Bay, are signed on to produce the Skibidi Toilet movies and TV Series that were only announced recently.
What does this all mean? Well, there is no clear answer to this situation. It could be that the lawyers from Invisible Narrative LLC were ordered to protect the company’s upcoming production, and that they were unaware of where the assets from the YouTube shorts originated from, hence targeting Garry’s Mod for the many “Skibidi” games they now host in their servers with the same assets.
Or it could be that INVIZ has been working with Gerasimov and his team in order to help with the NSFW issues they’ve been having, as to flush out any issues before they can build up the brand in a cleaner matter. Whatever may be the truth, we’ll have to wait and see how the situation develops, and whether Valve ends up involving themselves with the situation. After all, they are the creators behind most of these assets.
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