Digital Homicide Studios L.L.C. was an American

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

based in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

. James and Robert Romine founded the company in 2014 and released poorly received games in quick succession. The studio produced roughly sixty games until September 2016, including ''The Slaughtering Grounds'', ''Temper Tantrum'', and ''Galactic Hitman''. ''The Slaughtering Grounds'', Digital Homicide Studios' best-known title, was released via

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

in October 2014.

Jim Sterling James Stephanie Sterling, also known as Jim Sterling, is an English-American freelance video game journalist, critic, pundit, YouTuber, and professional wrestler. Before becoming independent in September 2014, they were the review editor for ...

's criticism of the game led to a dispute with Digital Homicide Studios and eventually a lawsuit by James Romine against Sterling. Romine also filed a lawsuit against 100 anonymous Steam users in September 2016, accusing them of

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

. In response to the latter,

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

removed all Digital Homicide Studios games from Steam, which Romine stated "destroyed" the studio by October 2016. Both lawsuits were later withdrawn or dismissed.

History

Digital Homicide Studios was founded by brothers James Oliver Romine Jr. and Robert Romine in 2014 in

. Robert Romine had previously been a liquor salesman. The studio rapidly created small

PC game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

s, producing about sixty until September 2016. These included ''The Slaughtering Grounds'', ''Gnarltoof's Revenge'', ''Krog Wars'', ''Paranormal Psychosis'', ''Temper Tantrum'', and ''Wyatt Derp''. Digital Homicide Studios used the community-driven game approval process

Steam Greenlight Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront by Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, and expanded to distributing and offering third ...

to have its titles released on the

service. The studio gave away copies of games like '' Ark: Survival Evolved'' and ''

Rocket League ''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, ...

'' in exchange for approval votes, which violated the Steam Greenlight guidelines. Many of Digital Homicide Studios' games were criticized as "amateurish, rushed and cobbled together from recycled assets". Tobias Ritter of ''

GameStar ''GameStar'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine in Germany. It is the best-selling German-language magazine focused on PC gaming and it also hosts the largest video gaming-related portal in the German-speaking internet. Content The pri ...

'' referred to them as "a mountain of trash games". John Walker of ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

'' reviewed the studio's ''Galactic Hitman'' in October 2015, calling it "a dreadful game" and citing it as potentially the worst game on Steam at the time. ''The Slaughtering Grounds'', a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

, was Digital Homicide Studios' first release on Steam. The game tasks the player with shooting

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

s across three

levels Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

. A level is completed if the player survives in it for sixteen minutes and sixteen seconds. ''The Slaughtering Grounds'' runs on the

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

game engine and largely uses assets purchased from the Unity Asset Store. It was released through Steam on October 31, 2014. An update with

bug fix A patch is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix, or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually being called bugfixes or bug fixes. Patches ...

es was released in early November 2014 and

Steam Trading Cards Steam Trading Cards are a digital commodity issued by Valve for use on its digital distribution service, Steam. Steam Trading Cards are a non-physical analogue of conventional trading cards, which are periodically granted to Steam users for playin ...

were added in April 2015. For this release, Digital Homicide Studios used the ''

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

'' "ImminentUprising". Later releases used various other names, such as "Micro Strategic Game Designs" and "ECC Games". ''GameStar''s Maurice Weber suggested that these pseudonyms were used to dissociate the games from Digital Homicide Studios and noted that, in many cases, they made it indiscernible who was actually developing the games in question. The video game journalist

heavily criticized ''The Slaughtering Grounds'' in November 2014, leading to a dispute with Digital Homicide Studios that culminated in March 2016 with James Romine suing Sterling over "

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

, and

slander Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

" for , later raised to . Perceiving

towards Digital Homicide Studios and the Romines, James Romine separately sued 100 anonymous Steam users for in September 2016 and requested a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

against

, the owner of Steam, to obtain these users' identities. This prompted Valve to remove all of Digital Homicide Studios' games from the platform, thus depriving the studio of its largest distributor at the time. The games continued to be sold via

Itch.io Itch.io (stylized as itch.io) is a website for users to host, sell and download indie games. Launched in March 2013 by Leaf Corcoran, the service hosts over 500,000 games and items (assets, ebooks, music) . Itch.io also allows users to host ...

. In October 2016, citing a lack of financial resources, Romine withdrew the lawsuit and declared that Digital Homicide Studios was "destroyed" as a result of the games' removal from Steam. The case against Sterling was ultimately dismissed

with prejudice Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...

in February 2017.

Controversy and litigation

Jim Sterling dispute and lawsuit

In November 2014, Jim Sterling, a

video game journalist Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicati ...

known for poking fun at poorly made video games, released a ten-minute

let's play A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and/or a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strateg ...

video of ''The Slaughtering Grounds'', repeatedly criticizing the game and labeling it as a "New 'Worst Game Of 2014' Contender". They regarded the game as an

asset flip An asset flip is a type of shovelware in which a video game developer legally purchases pre-made assets and uses them to create numerous permutations of generic games and sell them at low prices. While not technically illegal, they tend to be vie ...

, a game made poorly and quickly from art assets purchased from online stores. Sterling's videos were among the most exposure the game received at the time, with one of them appearing as the second search result on

Google Search Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine provided by Google. Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, it has a 92% share of the global search engine market. It is also the most-visited website in the world. The ...

and as the first on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, whereas ''The Slaughtering Grounds'' received no reviews indexed by the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. In response to Sterling's criticism, Digital Homicide Studios published a video dubbed "Review the Reviewer", re-using Sterling's video in its entirety with additional overlaid text that called Sterling "a fucking idiot" and accused them of playing the game incorrectly. Sterling subsequently produced a follow-up video in which they narrated and commented on Digital Homicide Studios' remarks. Digital Homicide Studios defended its use of purchased assets in a second response video, citing that it was "necessary from a production standpoint" and part of the "cycle of cash flow" in the

indie game An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

scene. Both response videos were later deleted. Digital Homicide Studios eventually filed a

DMCA takedown The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP) (a group which includes internet service providers (ISP) and other Inter ...

against Sterling's original video. Through two separate statements, the company said that the takedown was not censorship of Sterling's opinion, rather enforced due to

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

and damages the video had caused. Digital Homicide Studios said that it objected to Sterling's use of "'Worst Game Of 2014' Contender" and "absolute failure" as descriptions for the game, calling them "entirety unfair and unreasonable use of our copyright material". Both statements were later deleted. Sterling's video was temporarily removed as a result of the takedown, though reinstated by March 2016. The studio's moves against Sterling, which Weber described as an overreaction, attracted further critics. Digital Homicide Studios would later delete negative comments from the Steam forums for its games. Weber argued that these actions tarnished the studio's reputation. Sterling and Robert Romine discussed their differences in a

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

conversation in July 2015. Patrick Klepek of ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' called the exchange "equal parts awkward and contentious" because the two parties approached it from opposing perspectives and failed to see eye-to-eye, and because Romine eventually suggested that someone could sue Sterling over their actions. Sterling continued covering Digital Homicide Studios' games after this interaction. After four months of preparation, on March 4, 2016, James Romine filed a lawsuit against Sterling with the

United States District Court for the District of Arizona The United States District Court for the District of Arizona (in case citations, D. Ariz.) is the U.S. district court that covers the state of Arizona. It is under the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The District was esta ...

. The lawsuit accused Sterling of "assault, libel, and slander", citing nine counts of libel ''per se''. Romine sought to receive a total of , although the individual claims— in direct product damage; in emotional, reputational, and financial distress; and in

punitive damage Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit ...

requests—added up to . Additionally, the lawsuit asked for "apologies in place of every offending article and video for a period of no less than 5 years". Romine had "worked for hundreds of hours since early 2015" to learn about the legal system to be able to represent himself in court. Additionally, the company launched a

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign to hire a "premium online defamation law firm" for the lawsuit. This effort was suspended shortly after its announcement due to "harassers donating amounts specifically to cause charges". The campaign was to raise but received less than . The lawsuit process stalled after Sterling's side filed a

motion to dismiss In United States law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. It is a request to the judge (or judges) to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrativ ...

in May 2016, arguing that Sterling's comments were "protected commentary and opinion" rather than libel. Later amendments to the suit raised the total reimbursement to . The court later dismissed the suit because Romine had filed it as an individual but claimed damages for the company, although he was given the option to amend and refile his complaint. After Sterling's lawyer, Bradley Hartman, convinced Romine to drop the lawsuit, the court dismissed it with prejudice on February 20, 2017. Both Sterling and Romine were ordered to cover their respective court costs.

Steam users lawsuit

The Romine brothers perceived "relentless online harassment" from certain Steam users. According to them, this included

impersonation An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

, accusations of theft, threats of violence,

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...

s, and derogatory comments about the Romine brothers and Robert Romine's wife, which had spanned more than eighteen months. They stated that negative comments about Digital Homicide Studios' games had continued after April 2016, when they began releasing games under their own names, rather than that of the company. After being ignored by Steam and turned down by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, the Romine brothers contacted the Sheriff's Office of Yuma County in June 2016. They were initially rejected and returned in person that August, providing documents depicting "hundreds of the worst comments". In response, the Romine brothers were told to sue these users. On September 12, 2016, James Romine filed a lawsuit against 100 anonymous Steam users. Most of these were part of a Steam group called "Digital Homicides", which accused Digital Homicide Studios of abusing the Steam Greenlight process. The lawsuit called this group an "organized

hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is s ...

and harassment group ... that specifically formed on

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

to financially destroy and harass The Plaintiff". It further alleged that eleven of these users, who were referenced by their Steam usernames, had published a total of 20,000 posts containing harassment on Steam,

Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...

, YouTube, and other

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

platforms. Through the lawsuit, Romine sought for

personal injuries ''Personal Injuries'' is a novel by Scott Turow which was published in 1999. Like all of Turow's novels (bar his autobiographies), it takes place in fictional Kindle County and many of the characters are recognized from other Turow novels. Plot ...

. Claims included the purposeful posting of negative reviews about Digital Homicide Studios' games and requests made to Sterling to produce further videos covering the company. Romine further requested a subpoena against Valve, the owner of Steam, to have the company provide the identities of the users being sued. Romine again represented himself, while a crowdfunding campaign to support the lawsuit was set up through

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

. Upon the lawsuit's announcement on September 16, Valve removed Digital Homicide Studios' entire catalog (composed of twenty-one games and fifteen pieces of

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

) and all of its Steam Greenlight items from the platform. Steam had been the studio's largest distributor up to that point. Valve's

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of marketing, Doug Lombardi, stated that Valve had ceased doing business with Digital Homicide Studios "for being hostile to Steam customers". In response, Romine accused Valve of failing "to provide a safe environment" for the studio and showing "a reckless disregard for the wellbeing of their community for profits". The Romines consequently considered filing a lawsuit against Valve for "removing heir gamesand publicly stating why" and were seeking a lawyer to represent Digital Homicide Studios in such a case. In October 2016, James Romine stated that, due to the removal of the company's games from Steam, the business had been "destroyed". He filed for the lawsuit against the Steam users to be dismissed

without prejudice Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...

, citing that he could no longer afford to pursue it, although he noted that his case was still "solid".

Legacy

As a result of James Romine's two lawsuits, Digital Homicide Studios has been labeled as " litigious". ''GameStar''s Weber cited the studio as "Steam's worst developer". In May 2017, ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' ranked the lawsuit against Sterling fifth on its list of the "5 silliest legal scraps" in the

video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstream. , ...

. Nathan Grayson of ''Kotaku'' opined in September 2016 that both of James Romine's lawsuits and the surrounding controversy could have been avoided if Valve had taken a larger role in Steam's release curation, which would have halted the release of Digital Homicide Studios' games. He also believed that the company "allows and systemically endorses Steam users to behave in ways that are toxic, verging on abusive, with developers and each other", thus enabling parts of the substance of Romine's second lawsuit.

References

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Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...

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Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=September 27, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927010351/https://www.destructoid.com/stories/digital-homicide-hopes-to-use-lawsuit-winnings-for-game-development-classes-fauxclusive--349804.phtml , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.destructoid.com/stories/there-isn-t-enough-popcorn-in-the-world-for-this-digital-homicide-case-387669.phtml , title=There isn't enough popcorn in the world for this Digital Homicide case , first=CJ , last=Andriessen , date=September 17, 2016 , website=

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, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=August 11, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811132557/https://www.destructoid.com/stories/indie-developer-digital-homicide-sues-jim-sterling-349283.phtml , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.destructoid.com/stories/slaughtering-grounds-developer-continues-to-be-petty-about-one-bad-review-290805.phtml , title=Slaughtering Grounds developer continues to be petty about one bad review , first=Chris , last=Carter , date=April 22, 2015 , website=

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, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=August 7, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807183956/https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a827962/gamings-five-silliest-legal-scraps/ , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-02-22-long-running-lawsuit-between-jim-sterling-and-digital-homicide-finally-comes-to-an-end , title=Jim Sterling comes out on top as lawsuit with Digital Homicide dismissed , first=Wesley , last=Yin-Poole , date=February 22, 2017 , website=

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

, access-date=November 12, 2019 , archive-date=September 29, 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929002649/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-02-22-long-running-lawsuit-between-jim-sterling-and-digital-homicide-finally-comes-to-an-end , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/digital-homicide-steams-schlimmster-entwickler-ist-am-ende,3303424.html , title=Digital Homicide – "Steams schlimmster Entwickler" ist am Ende , language=de , trans-title=Digital Homicide – "Steam's worst developer" is finished , first=Tobias , last=Ritter , date=October 4, 2016 , website=

, access-date=March 6, 2021 , archive-date=October 6, 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006090510/http://www.gamestar.de/artikel/digital-homicide-steams-schlimmster-entwickler-ist-am-ende,3303424.html , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-09-19-steam-pulls-digital-homicide-games-following-fan-lawsuit , title=Steam pulls Digital Homicide games following fan lawsuit , first=Matthew , last=Handrahan , date=September 19, 2016 , website=

GamesIndustry.biz Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=November 8, 2016 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108101835/http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-09-19-steam-pulls-digital-homicide-games-following-fan-lawsuit , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://kotaku.com/steams-digital-homicide-fiasco-is-valves-fault-1786870927 , title=Steam's Digital Homicide Fiasco Is Valve's Fault , first=Nathan , last=Grayson , date=September 21, 2016 , website=

, access-date=February 23, 2021 , archive-date=November 24, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014229/https://kotaku.com/steams-digital-homicide-fiasco-is-valves-fault-1786870927 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://kotaku.com/court-throws-out-digital-homicides-case-against-critic-1792599942 , title=Court Throws Out Digital Homicide's Case Against Critic Jim Sterling , first=Cecilia , last=D'Anastasio , date=February 21, 2017 , website=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=January 6, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106185110/https://kotaku.com/court-throws-out-digital-homicides-case-against-critic-1792599942 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://kotaku.com/angered-game-developer-sues-game-critic-jim-sterling-fo-1765484317 , title=Angered Game Developer Sues Critic Jim Sterling For $10 Million , first=Patrick , last=Klepek , date=March 17, 2016 , website=

, access-date=November 12, 2019 , archive-date=November 9, 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109165618/https://kotaku.com/angered-game-developer-sues-game-critic-jim-sterling-fo-1765484317 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://kotaku.com/game-developer-sues-100-anonymous-steam-users-for-18-m-1786721306 , title=Game Developer Sues 100 Anonymous Steam Users For $18 Million PDATE, first=Jason , last=Schreier , author-link=Jason Schreier , date=September 16, 2016 , website=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=November 9, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109022252/https://kotaku.com/game-developer-sues-100-anonymous-steam-users-for-18-m-1786721306 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-slaughtering-grounds , title=The Slaughtering Grounds for PC Reviews , website=

, access-date=July 17, 2020 , archive-date=July 17, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717075007/https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-slaughtering-grounds , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-removes-digital-homicides-games-from-steam/ , title=Valve removes Digital Homicide's games from Steam , first=Tom , last=Sykes , date=September 17, 2016 , website=

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

, access-date=March 3, 2021 , archive-date=November 8, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108123737/https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-removes-digital-homicides-games-from-steam/ , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.pcgamer.com/digital-homicide-withdraws-lawsuit-against-steam-users-says-studio-is-destroyed/ , title=Digital Homicide withdraws lawsuit against Steam users, says studio is "destroyed" , first=Andy , last=Chalk , date=October 3, 2016 , website=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=December 24, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224213908/https://www.pcgamer.com/digital-homicide-withdraws-lawsuit-against-steam-users-says-studio-is-destroyed/ , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.pcgames.de/Spiele-Thema-239104/Specials/Asset-Flips-Der-schnelle-Reibach-mit-Fake-Spielen-1353441/ , title=Asset Flips: Der schnelle Reibach mit Fake-Spielen , language=de , trans-title=Asset flips: The quick rubbish with fake games , first1=Sönke , last1=Siemens , first2=Benedikt , last2=Plass-Fleßenkämper , first3=Lukas , last3=Schmid , date=July 4, 2020 , website=

PC Games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=December 14, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214051640/https://www.pcgames.de/Spiele-Thema-239104/Specials/Asset-Flips-Der-schnelle-Reibach-mit-Fake-Spielen-1353441/ , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://uk.pcmag.com/games/84608/report-steam-yanks-digital-homicide-games-over-lawsuit , title=Report: Steam Yanks Digital Homicide Games Over Lawsuit , first=Stephanie , last=Mlot , date=September 19, 2016 , website=

PCMag ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221194853/https://uk.pcmag.com/games/84608/report-steam-yanks-digital-homicide-games-over-lawsuit , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/2/14781112/jim-sterling-lawsuit-defamation-result , title=Jim Sterling was sued for making fun of a game, and it was a bad idea , first=Mona , last=Ibrahim , date=March 2, 2017 , website=

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=November 12, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012058/https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/2/14781112/jim-sterling-lawsuit-defamation-result , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.polygon.com/2016/10/3/13153766/digital-homicide-lawsuit-sue-threats-subpoena-steam-users-jim-sterling , title=Developer seeking Steam users' identities for lawsuit withdraws case, saying his studio 'is destroyed' , first=Owen S. , last=Good , date=October 3, 2016 , website=

, access-date=November 12, 2019 , archive-date=April 12, 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412235729/https://www.polygon.com/2016/10/3/13153766/digital-homicide-lawsuit-sue-threats-subpoena-steam-users-jim-sterling , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.polygon.com/2016/9/17/12951756/digital-homicide-lawsuit-jim-sterling-steam-users-valve , title=Steam removes games of developer seeking subpoena for users' information (Correction) , first=Owen S. , last=Good , date=September 17, 2016 , website=

, access-date=November 12, 2019 , archive-date=October 10, 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010082750/https://www.polygon.com/2016/9/17/12951756/digital-homicide-lawsuit-jim-sterling-steam-users-valve , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/worst-game-on-steam , title=Is Galactic Hitman Really The Worst Game On Steam? , first=John , last=Walker , date=October 20, 2015 , website=

, access-date=March 3, 2021 , archive-date=March 3, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303193137/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/worst-game-on-steam , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/valve-remove-digital-homicide-games-from-steam , title=Valve Remove Digital Homicide's Games From Steam For Suing Users Over Comments , first=Alice , last=O'Connor , date=September 16, 2016 , website=

, access-date=March 9, 2021 , archive-date=March 9, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309172745/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/valve-remove-digital-homicide-games-from-steam , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/digital-homicide-drop-lawsuit-against-steam-users , title=Digital Homicide Drop Lawsuit Against Steam Users , first=Alice , last=O'Connor , date=October 4, 2016 , website=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221200405/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/digital-homicide-drop-lawsuit-against-steam-users , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/329950/announcements/detail/198483419659253145 , title=The Slaughtering Grounds Is Now Live! , publisher=Digital Homicide Studios , date=October 31, 2014 , via=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=November 15, 2014 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115102302/http://steamcommunity.com/games/329950/announcements/detail/198483419659253145 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/329950/announcements/detail/163595546900975873 , title=Steam Trading Cards , publisher=Digital Homicide Studios , date=April 13, 2015 , via=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=September 21, 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921091453/http://steamcommunity.com/games/329950/announcements/detail/163595546900975873 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/329950/announcements/detail/198484057129594740 , title=Small Update , publisher=Digital Homicide Studios , date=November 7, 2014 , via=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=March 5, 2015 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305001719/http://steamcommunity.com/games/329950/announcements/detail/198484057129594740 , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/2016/09/21/yuma-digital-homicide-video-games-sue-users/90742572/ , title=Free speech or criminal harassment? Arizona game maker sues online commenters for $18M , first=Kaila , last=White , date=September 21, 2016 , website=

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221194853/https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/2016/09/21/yuma-digital-homicide-video-games-sue-users/90742572/ , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/valve-removes-digital-homicide-games-from-steam , title=Valve Removes Digital Homicide Games From Steam , first=Mike , last=Williams , date=September 19, 2016 , website=

USgamer Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=September 30, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930152448/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/valve-removes-digital-homicide-games-from-steam , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/digital-homicides-15m-libel-lawsuit-against-jim-sterling-is-dismissed , title=Digital Homicide's $15m Libel Lawsuit Against Jim Sterling Is Dismissed , first=Nadia , last=Oxford , date=February 22, 2017 , website=

, access-date=February 21, 2021 , archive-date=October 20, 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020222030/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/digital-homicides-15m-libel-lawsuit-against-jim-sterling-is-dismissed , url-status=live {{cite web , url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/bmv5b4/valve-bans-game-publisher-after-it-sues-players-that-gave-it-bad-steam-reviews , title=Valve Bans Game Publisher After It Sues Players That Gave It Bad Steam Reviews , first=Leif , last=Johnson , date=September 17, 2016 , website=

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

, access-date=March 3, 2021 , archive-date=February 16, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216014942/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bmv5b4/valve-bans-game-publisher-after-it-sues-players-that-gave-it-bad-steam-reviews , url-status=live {{cite AV media , url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KG_21fuII , title=Steams schlimmster Entwickler – Digital Homicide gegen den Rest der Welt , language=de , trans-title=Steam's worst developer – Digital Homicide versus the rest of the world , first=Maurice , last=Weber , date=September 22, 2016 , publisher=

, via=

, access-date=March 6, 2021 , archive-date=September 29, 2019 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929051932/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KG_21fuII&gl=US&hl=en , url-status=live 2014 establishments in Arizona 2016 disestablishments in Arizona American companies disestablished in 2016 American companies established in 2014 Defunct companies based in Arizona Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game companies disestablished in 2016 Video game companies established in 2014 Video game controversies Yuma, Arizona