Free demo of Superman in UE5 is for sale on Steam, but it is not what you think!

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Remember the wonderful tech demo in Unreal Engine 5 starring Superman? It would seem that someone decided to appropriate it and put it up for sale on Steam without the author's consent.

The demo, which can be downloaded on the official website completely free of charge, has now been available since early 2022 and should in no way be published on a digital distribution platform such as Valve's. Unfortunately, however, some malicious person downloaded the content by Tyson Butler-Boschma and uploaded it to Steam as if he were the author, placing the product for about $10.

#Superman in #UE5’s CitySample…
I must say, the results are quite spectacular! #IndieGameDev #gamedev #games pic.twitter.com/f8pAE9LTfq

— Tyson Butler-Boschma (@TJATOMICA) April 16, 2022

What will Valve do about this?

As Tom Henderson reports, Tyson has tried to take action against those who uploaded the demo to the Valve client, but no significant results have been achieved. As early as last November 7, 2022, a strike for copyright infringement was attempted, but there is still no response, and the demo's author is waiting for the content to be removed from Steam.

According to the developer's statement to the well-known insider, the company that published the paid demo is reportedly doing the same with Tyson's YouTube channel to get him suspended from the platform. Those responsible for this rather questionable move also claim that the developer is one of their employees who does not want to share the fruits of his labor.

The team that stole my free superman demo and are selling it on Steam, are now copyright claiming my content on @YouTube as well...
They are straight up attacking and harassing me at this point and I don't feel safe providing my personal information for a counter claim... pic.twitter.com/dqd0oHjul4

— Tyson Butler-Boschma (@TJATOMICA) November 14, 2022

In case you missed it: Project LLL is a new open-world shooter MMO in Unreal Engine 5!

In short, the situation is quite complex, and one of the elements causing the most discussion is the lack of immediate action on the part of Valve, which has already, in the past, allowed non-original content to be published on its client.

What do you think the company should do in this situation? Let us know in the comments!