Summary
Schedule 1has pretty much established itself as the latest indie megahit to come out of Steam, which launched toa peak concurrent player count higher than massive titles like Monster Hunter Wildsand Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. It looked like nothing could stop solo developer TVGS, right up until it wasreportedly hit by a copyright investigation from a publisher called Movie Games S.A.
According to Insider Gaming, a document was found which revealed that Drug Dealer Simulator 1 and 2 publisher Movie Games S.A. had begun an investigation into Schedule 1 over potential copyright infringement, as it claimed the game was too similar to the Drug Dealer Simulator series. If true, it’s likely that Movie Games S.A. is attempting to find something it can use to sue TVGS.
Schedule 1 Fans Are Attempting To Defend TVGS
Nothing like a good review bombing to make your voice heard
Unsurprisingly, fans of Schedule 1 weren’t very pleased to hear that their new favorite game will potentially be facing legal threats, so they’ve attempted to make their voices heard in quite possibly the only way they can. Ever since news of this potential copyright investigation came to light, both Drug Dealer Simulator and its sequel have been heavily review bombed by thousands of people (thanks GamesRadar).
Both games currently have Overwhelmingly Negative recent reviews on Steam, having amassedjust over 1,700 negative reviews combined over the past few days. Most of the negative reviews mention Schedule 1 in some way, whether they’re convincing people to buy the game instead, or to poke fun at Movie Games S.A. and accuse it of being jealous of Schedule 1’s success.
Game is so bad that they had to sue another game made by a solo dev that did the concept of dealing drugs 10x better.
It’s worth noting that a lawsuit hasn’t been served to TVGS just yet, at least as far as we’re aware. Insider Gaming reported that the document was very much just a declaration of an investigation, and this heat that is now at the publisher’s front door may very well decide against any action. We should hear more fairly soon if Movie Games S.A. does decide to take legal action though, so we’ll keep you updated.
Update 04/08/25 14:58 GMT:Movie Games has reached out to TheGamer to confirm “there is no lawsuit”, that “it is not our intention to prevent TVGS from selling or developing their game”, but that “there is an investigation into the nature of similarities between the games since a preliminary legal analysis indicated there might have been an infringement”.
