The developer behind the farming and life simulation game Roots of Pacha, Soda Den, recently took to social media in order to explain the sudden disappearance of the Steam page, pointing to an ongoing "dispute" with publisher Crytivo. According to Soda Den, “Crytivo went to Valve and authorized them to remove Roots of Pacha from Steam without our knowledge or consent.”
In a statement released on Twitter, Soda Den claimed that Crytivo had taken the decision to remove the game from Steam of its own accord. The announcement went on to say that Soda Den had in fact been embroiled in a dispute with Crytivo concerning the rights to Roots of Pacha, noting that both companies had so far been working to resolve the matter without coming to a confrontation.
"As you may have noticed, the Roots of Pache Steam page is temporarily offline," Soda Den explained. "We are sad to report that we have been engaged in a dispute with Crytivo over the rights to Roots of Pacha. We worked hard to amicably resolve our issue with Crytivo internally. Instead of working with us to address the issue, Crytivo went to Valve and authorized them to remove Roots of Pacha from Steam without our knowledge or consent.”
Soda Den reassured fans and followers that development of the game would continue regardless of the dispute. "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. We couldn't be any more thankful for the overall reception of the game. We're currently working on a roadmap and are excited to say it'll be ready for you next month!”
Crytivo responded to the claims with its own statement, saying that it had worked closely with the development team for three years to make Roots of Pacha a success, noting that only two days after the game's successful launch, Soda Den had informed the publisher that it was unilaterally rescinding the agreement which the two companies had so far been working under, considering the contract to be null and void. The core concern was the agreed upon revenue sharing terms.
“We received an unexpected message from the Soda Den team informing us they were claiming to unilaterally rescind the contract,” Crytivo explained. "Shortly after, they removed our access to the Steam page for our team.” The company added that “per Valve policy, if there is a dispute between parties, they remove the page until the dispute is resolved.
The removal of the game from Steam has left players disappointed and uncertain about the future. While some have expressed concern over the lack of communication from both parties regarding the dispute and its resolution, others have called for transparency and for the parties involved to work towards finding a satisfactory solution.
There is currently no information on how the parties involved aim to settle the dispute or when Roots of Pacha will return to Steam. In much the same way, it remains to be seen how the dispute will be resolved and what impact it will have on the community. “We're cautiously optimistic that Roots of Pacha will return to Steam very soon,” Soda Den remarked. Crytivo echoed the sentiment, explaining that “rest assured, we are committed to resolving this situation and ensuring that Roots of Pacha returns to Steam.”