Why IKEA is furious with a new horror video game

The Ziggy studio, which is currently developing the horror game The Store is Closed, received a letter from IKEA lawyers, Kotaku reveals on Friday. Jacob Shaw, the creator of the game (currently in alpha version), would have been ordered to change it and “remove all elements associated with IKEA stores” within ten days, under penalty of prosecution.

The cooperative survival game The Store is Closed, funded through a Kickstarter project, takes place in a huge furniture store located in a blue building adorned with a large “STYR” logo in yellow. Inside, it is possible to find catalogs with furniture that looks exactly like those of IKEA.

A resemblance deemed too strong

For the lawyers of the firm, the resemblance between the universe of the game and that of the Swedish brand is therefore too strong. “Your game uses a blue and yellow logo with a Scandinavian name as the store sign, a blue building, clothes with vertical lines for staff, a gray path, furniture that looks like IKEA furniture, and signs that look like IKEA directions. All of these elements suggest that the game takes place in an IKEA store,” they detailed in their post.

This resemblance would be all the more embarrassing for IKEA that a rumor claims that the game is actually developed by the brand. The similarities between “STYR” and “IKEA” had also not escaped certain specialized media such as The Gamer when titled their articles presenting the game. In response, Jacob Shaw assured that he “bought packs of generic objects to make this game. However, he will be forced to review the design as soon as possible before he can resume the development of The Store is Closed. Its release is currently scheduled for 2024.