We didn't plan for it, but we were compelled by legal obligations — the publisher of Drug Dealer Simulator on the investigation concerning Schedule I
Last week, it became known that the Polish publisher Movie Games, known for the Drug Dealer Simulator series, is investigating the game Schedule I for plagiarism. In their official Discord channel, the company mentioned that initially, it did not plan to start an investigation.
Drug Dealer Simulator 2
According to Movie Games, shortly before the release of Schedule I, they even sent the developers of Schedule I an email wishing them all the best. However, they soon had to hire lawyers.
"Due to repeated reports that Schedule I is very similar to Drug Dealer Simulator, we were forced to request an analysis from an intellectual property specialist. They noted a potential violation by the developers of Schedule I concerning Drug Dealer Simulator," Movie Games stated.
The company added that legal obligations require them to continue the investigation. The next step is to contact the creators of Schedule I and discuss the situation. Currently, Movie Games does not intend to prevent TVGS from further developing and selling the game.
The publisher also emphasized that they have not filed any lawsuits against TVGS at this time.
"For us, this is a very serious situation. We are not a large corporation but a relatively small indie publisher. There are other narcotic simulators with very positive reviews and good sales. But according to lawyers, they do not copy Drug Dealer Simulator," stated Movie Games.
Following the news of the investigation related to Schedule I, Steam users initiated a review-bombing campaign of the Drug Dealer Simulator series. As a result, the rating of both parts of the series over the last 30 days has become "extremely negative." Meanwhile, Schedule I set a new record for online users over the weekend, which now stands at 459,075 people.
The number of positive and negative reviews on Steam for Drug Dealer Simulator 2 over the past month, broken down by day
In Russia, the production, distribution, acquisition, storage, transportation, processing, and promotion of narcotic substances are prohibited. Their use is harmful to health.