Battlestate Games, the Russian developer of online FPS Escape from Tarkov, is having negative YouTube videos taken down en masse, and it’s turned the Escape from Tarkov community against it in the process. The situation arose when Croatian YouTuber and streamer Eroktic had dozens of his videos removed from YouTube following copyright strikes issued by Battlestate. These videos were removed automatically by YouTube despite the fact that none of them violate copyright law, and Battlestate’s response to the online backlash it has received only highlights the absurdity of its claims.
Battlestate Games advertises Escape from Tarkov as an FPS/RPG/MMO hybrid, first announced in 2015. It entered the beta phase of development this year and, prior to the events that have thrust Battlestate into the negative spotlight, was largely unknown to most of the gaming community. Therefore, it should strike one as odd that the indie developer would claim DMCA violations against a YouTuber popular among the Escape from Tarkov community, especially when most developers encourage players to stream and upload videos of their games as a form of free and mutually beneficial marketing. However, Battlestate apparently didn’t get the memo, and now many are hearing about Escape from Tarkov for the first time in a very negative light.
The copyright strikes that removed at least 47 of Eroktic’s videos from his YouTube channel were prompted by his warning to other players of a potential leak of Escape from Tarkov players’ data in two separate videos. Battlestate Games holds that this pair of videos contained blatant misinformation, but rather than move to file a lawsuit against Eroktic and issue a clarifying statement to the Escape from Tarkov community, Battlestate instead engaged in a puzzling misuse of the YouTube’s copyright strike system. There’s little doubt that Battlestate chose to go after Eroktic under the pretenses of DMCA violations in order to force a more swift response from YouTube, but it doesn’t make those pretenses any less false. Furthermore, if the content covered in only two of Eroktic’s videos were of concern to Battlestate, why did the developer file copyright strikes against the other 45?
On the official Escape from Tarkov Facebook page, Battlestate inadvertently highlights the absurdity of the real rationale behind its actions. First explaining that the alleged data breach was little other than a case of users continuing to reuse data that had been previously leaked in other unrelated breaches, Battlestate states that they “make every possible effort” to maintain not only the security of their players’ sensitive information, but also “the most comfortable environment for communication in our community.” Referring to Eroktic’s recent videos of Escape from Tarkov as “no more than deliberate slander,” Battlestate expresses:
Essentially, Battlestate admits to moving to silence Eroktic based not solely upon his potential misinformation of the Escape from Tarkov player base, but for his criticisms of the game and the developer, to which Battlestate refers as “negative hype.” This is rather alarming, as it isn’t and never has been illegal for anyone to provide their thoughts about a video game product or its publisher online (barring court-proven cases of defamation, libel, or slander). As a result of the attention this controversy has received, gun manufacture Spikes Tactical confirmed that Escape from Tarkov features one of its patented assault rifle compensators without its consent. This fact only adds fuel to the fire, as this hypocritical behavior flies in the face of the supposed ethical high ground Battlestate has claimed by abusing YouTube’s copyright strike system. With the direction these developments seem to be headed, Battlestate has painted itself into a corner and should not be surprised when things don’t go the way it originally intended.
[Eroktic’s] purposefully destructive actions cannot be considered “criticism” no matter how you look at it. Eroktic has a long history of negative attitude towards our project, the company and players, and with the recent actions he crossed the line.
Needless to say, Battlestate’s social media channels and the Escape From Tarkov Reddit threads exploded against the developers and their responses, leading to all sorts of negative media coverage - the opposite effect Battlestate was going for by trying to censor negativity on Eroktic’s YouTube channel. Meanwhile, after endless complaints of security issues with the game, Battlestate tweeted the below.
Update: We’ve spoken with the game’s PR who explained that they’ve withdrawn “all the claims except 2 videos with lie and provocations” and will have more info tomorrow.
More: EA Reflects on Star Wars Battlefront 2 Mess And Looks Ahead to 2019
Source: Escape from Tarkov Facebook
