In a surprising turn of events, indie game Schedule I, a dope pushing simulator, has found itself at the center of a copyright infringement accusation by Movie Games S.A., the developers behind the The Drug Dealer Simulator series. According to a report from the Polish Press Agency on April 3, Movie Games S.A. has completed a legal analysis and alleges that Schedule I may have infringed upon the intellectual property rights of The Drug Dealer Simulator by utilizing similar plots, mechanics, and even user interface elements.
Schedule I’s Copyright Infringement Accuser Gets Review Bombed on Steam
Despite the ongoing investigation and no official outcome yet, fans have taken sides, and it appears that Schedule I has garnered more support. In retaliation, The Drug Dealer Simulator and Drug Dealer Simulator 2 have been hit with a wave of negative reviews on Steam, pushing their ratings to "Overwhelmingly Negative" and "Mostly Negative" respectively.
The recent reviews criticize Movie Games S.A. for what is perceived as bullying an indie developer and highlight the company's hypocrisy, noting that similar titles existed without any accusations until Schedule I was released. This backlash is particularly striking as the Drug Dealer Simulator series has previously been hailed as one of the best criminal management games by both media outlets and fans.
Schedule I is a new cooperative crime simulation game where players begin as small-time drug dealers and work their way up to become kingpins. Launched into Early Access on PC on March 25, Schedule I has quickly risen to prominence, earning "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews on Steam and securing the position of the platform's 2nd top-selling game, surpassing titles like inZOI, Monster Hunter Wilds, and another indie hit, R.E.P.O.. According to SteamDB, Schedule I has achieved an all-time peak of 459,075 concurrent players at the time of writing.
Here at Game8, we found Schedule I to be a surprisingly addictive and rewarding experience, earning it the nickname of a "Breaking Bad" simulator. For a deeper dive into our thoughts on Schedule I's early access release, be sure to check out our detailed article below!
