Only Up! Pulled From Steam After Becoming A Twitch Sensation [Update]

Only Up!, a not-so-endless runner that recently took off on Twitch, has been inexplicably removed from Steam with no warning, but there’s reason to believe it might’ve been removed due to a copyright dispute with an artist claiming the game uses one of their assets.

Developer SC-KR Games posted to its Twitter (thanks PC Gamer) that the game would be available for purchase again on Steam “soon” after it was taken down earlier today. For those not in the know, Only Up! basically has you running through an obstacle course and parkouring through it gradually escalates. The goal seems to be to reach space, which means you’re making a constant ascent from the ground to the endless void. So in short, you’re going…only up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ18FVRaQjc

As of this writing, Only Up! has very quickly amassed a strong Twitch following, with over 90,000 viewers and 55,000 users following the game on the streaming platform. While it’s having a successful run on Twitch, a 3D artist is claiming the game uses one of their 3D models, which was listed for free use as long as it wasn’t for commercial purposes.

Der Moment, wenn @venom_virtual einem erzählt, dass das aktuell sehr erfolgreiche Spiel #OnlyUp , mindestens ein Asset von mir #gerippt hat.

Tja… was soll ich dazu sagen… macht euch selbst ein Bild davon.#steal #3d #ripped #geklaut #noComercialUse #sprachlos pic.twitter.com/VDBwf8hX0w

— Aboulicious (@Aboulicious) June 29, 2023

The model in question is listed on Sketchfab, which explicitly states its for non-commercial use. Only Up! is a $10 game, andit’s being used to make money, which goes directly against the guidelines set out. It’s unclear at this point if this is the reason Only Up! was delisted, but we’ve reached out to Valve and SC-KR Games for clarification.

As PC Gamer points out, Only Up! has dealt with some controversy prior to this because it has NFT promotion, but Steam only has rules against NFTs if you’re buying and selling them in-game, rather than simply promoting them.

Update, 07/03/23, 4:47 p.m.: Only Up! has returned to Steam, and is discounted for $6.99. SC-KR Games has deleted its initial tweet saying the game would be back on the platform “soon,” and has not posted about its relisting at all. We’ve reached out to the studio for clarification on the situation, and will update the story if we hear back.