Roots of Pacha, the co-op farming simulator set in the Stone Stage, has been pulled from Steam following a major dispute between developer Soda Den, and publisher Crytivo. The game will remain offline while both companies work towards resolving what appears to be a complex situation.
On Twitter, Soda Den has alleged Crytivo ‘went to Valve and authorised them to remove Roots of Pacha from Steam’ without the team’s knowledge or consent, following the evolution of a ‘dispute’ between the two companies.
As Crytivo subsequently explained in a Twitter response, Valve is authorised to remove game pages in the event of disputes between developers and publishers. Crytivo has alleged there are solid grounds for this removal, as it has accused Soda Den of attempting to rescind a work contract.
‘We’ve closely collaborated with the Soda Den team for three years, providing support and guidance throughout the [Roots of Pacha] journey, leading up to the game’s launch on April 25th. On April 27th, just two days after the successful release, we received an unexpected message from the Soda Den team, informing us they were claiming to unilaterally rescind the contract we had worked under for three years, treating it as void,’ Crytivo alleged.
‘This disregarded all our work and the agreed-upon revenue-sharing contract terms. Shortly after, they removed our access to the Steam page for our team.’
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Both companies have promised to work through these allegations, in the hopes that Roots of Pacha will return to Steam shortly.
‘We are committed to resolving this situation and ensuring that Roots of Pacha returns to Steam,’ Crytivo said. ‘We will continue working closely with all parties involved, including Valve, to reach a satisfactory resolution.’
Soda Den is similarly optimistic about the future of the game, promising new development work and support for the project, even as the dispute continues.
‘While we work out our issues with Crytivo, we’ll continue developing Roots of Pacha with the same energy we’ve always put into it,’ the Soda Den team said. ‘We couldn’t be any more thankful for the overall reception of the game. We’re currently working on a roadmap and are exciting to say it’ll be ready for [players] next month. We’re cautiously optimistic that Roots of Pacha will return to Steam very soon.’
Stay tuned for update as Crytivo and Soda Den work on a viable solution.
