'River City Ransom: Underground' Pulled from Steam?
Steam players may be confused as to why "River City Ransom: Underground" is missing from the platform. However, they should rest assured, though, because the music in the game is being replaced and it should be back up in the future.
The game was pulled by Steam recently because of copyright issues involving a music composer named Alex Mauer. Mauer filed a DMCA (digital millennium copyright act) strike against Conatus Creative, the studio who made "River City Ransom: Underground." She had worked with composers Dino Leonetti and Rich Vreeland on the music.
According to Conatus Creative founder Daniel Crenna, there is no truth to Mauer's claim. However, because Conatus Creative does not have the resources for the legal process, the studio is simply changing the game's music.
"Let me make it absolutely clear – Alex Mauer's claim that the game violates her copyright is false," Crenna wrote in a Steam Community post. "She is a co-creator of the music, with Dino Lionetti and Rich Vreeland. Our written license agreement is with Rich, who subcontracted Alex and Dino. When Rich offered to pay Alex an equal share of the music fee for her contribution to the game soundtrack, she emailed back: 'oh that's awesome man i'm all for it thanks!' Rich has shown us the documentation that Alex was paid in full."
Mauer claimed that Conatus Creative did not ask for her permission to use the music in the game. She apparently did work with Vreeland and Lionetti, but was "cut out of the deal," she told Kotaku.
This is not the first time Mauer has filed claims against a studio for using her music. She did the same thing with Imagos Softworks "Starr Mazer DSP," though the company was able to fight her claims and prevented her from filing any more with a restraining order.
Crenna told the same publication that "River City Ransom: Underground" will return to Steam, though an exact date was not mentioned.
