Why The Store Is Closed Has IKEA Claiming Trademark Infringement

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IKEA Sends Cease and Desist to Horror Game Over Its Lookalike Setting

By Julia Anderson

Published Oct 31, 2022

IKEA requests an indie game developer make changes to the upcoming horror title The Store is Closed due to similarities between it and its warehouses.

IKEA sent a cease and desist letter to the upcoming survival horror game The Store is Closed over its similarities with the company's chain of warehouse locations.

As reported by Kotaku, the famed Swedish furniture giant sent the request to The Store is Closed's sole indie developer Jacob Shaw, who also goes by the studio name Ziggy. The letter demands that Shaw make significant design changes to the game, which is set in a large warehouse store that strongly resembles an IKEA. Lawyers for the furniture company claimed The Store is Closed commits trademark infringement due to comparisons made by some news outlets between the game and IKEA's stores.

The letter begins with, "Our client has learned that you are developing a video game, The Store is Closed, which uses, without our client's authorization, indicia associated with the famous IKEA stores." It goes on to list the aspects of the game that it finds most infringe upon IKEA's brand. "Your game uses a blue and yellow sign with a Scandinavian name on the store, a blue box-like building, yellow vertical striped shirts identical to those worn by IKEA personnel, a gray path on the floor, furniture that looks like IKEA furniture, and product signage that looks like IKEA signage. All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an IKEA store."

In speaking with Kotaku, Shaw disputed he deliberately designed the furniture in the game to resemble items found at IKEA. "I bought generic furniture asset packs to make this game," he said, which means any developer could use the same exact furniture designs if they pay for them. Although IKEA's letter notes Shaw has plenty of time to make the necessary changes before the survival horror game's 2024 launch, it then gives him "ten working days of the date of this letter" to complete the alterations.

The Store is Closed started life as a Kickstarter. With one week left to donate, Shaw's horror title has earned $49,000, well past his initial £10,000 ($11,575) goal. "I was going to spend the last week of my Kickstarter preparing an update for all the new alpha testers," Shaw told Kotaku. "But now I've got to desperately revamp the entire look of the game so I don't get sued."

The Store is Closed launches sometime in 2024.

Source: Kotaku