Until today, Trek Industries and its 17 developers were welcoming in new players to their latest game, ORION, thanks to the visibility gained due to the Steam summer sale. The ambitious title is the next entry in the company’s ORION series after the series’ previous entries gained some popularity on Steam just years ago. ORION features a small price tag of just $1, and during the Steam summer sale, players were able to purchase it half off the normal price. Unfortunately, the game and the ability to purchase it have been removed from Steam due to a DMCA claim allegedly filed by Activision.

According to Trek Industries, a complaint was filed against ORION on Steam stating that certain assets in the game violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The developer notes on the game’s Steam discussion forums that the DMCA complaint was filed on behalf of Activision due to gun asset similarities between ORION and Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Two images of guns in question are provided by Trek Industries in the post. Specifically, the Bal-27 rifle, the Haymaker rifle, and the M8A7 rifle from the listed Call of Duty games are shown in comparison to similar guns in ORION.

A Tech Guardian ready to place a turret in ORION [Image via Trek Industries]

Developers of ORION state the claim is the first notice against the game with no discussion on the matter from either Steam or Activision. The removal of the game from Steam was the first step in the dispute. Directing to the game’s Steam page simply redirects to the platform’s store page at this time. To make matters worse, it was enacted during a crucial time for ORION and its developers, since the Steam summer sale was driving new users toward the title.

“This is extremely serious that a DCMA request has removed our entire game from sale, during the biggest sale event of the year. Apparently no cross-checking was done by our Partner, who we’ve been with for over 5 years and I have seen better and would expect better from them. At minimum, to contact us regarding our assets/defense before taking any action.”

Anyone can file a DMCA complaint against a game on Steam via Steam’s Notice of Copyright Infringement page. Of course, those filing must confirm that they have the right to file the claim under penalty of perjury. At this point, it seems the claim is, indeed, coming from Activision or a sponsor thereof. In their efforts to rectify the issues, developers at Trek Industries inquired about the possibility of reinstating the game to Steam if they remove selected assets. According to their official Facebook page, developers were told that they could not do this, and Activision has 10 days to move forward with the complaint before the game can return to Steam. Of course, during that time, the game cannot be sold on the platform.

Trek Industries’ David Prassel responded to a request to comment on this story, stating that the only similarities between the weapons in question comes from the fact that both guns are futuristic interpretations of the M1 Garand. According to Prassel, the seemingly familiar features of the firearms firearms are the result of using an existing real-world weapon for inspiration.

“The sight is the only similarity we can see. Even if it was a 1:1, that’s not enough for a design infraction, even by legal standards and by a significant amount. And the sight is just a futuristic M1 Garand, so either way both are ripping off a real world property, the only thing that could actually hold up and is the only one without a dog in this fight. If anything you can argue the gun on the left is different enough, no gap on the rail, no racking bolt, missing bolts on the upper, the markings, even the actual body of the gun is quite different, the rails and front sights look very similar to the M14.”

Using the regen gun to heal a teammate in ORION [Image via Trek Industries]

Players that purchased ORION before the DMCA complaint can still play the title as of this writing. ORION currently supports two player versus environment modes: Harvest and Survival. Players can tackle the modes alone, with a few friends, or a full group to earn experience and collect loot. More features including PvP modes, a mech system, personal ships, and more are planned for the early access title. Three Guardians are available to play without purchase while several others can be picked up for Trek Credits. However, Trek Credits are earned for completing in-game achievements, making it very easy to experience all of what ORION offers without an additional real money purchase.

There is, however, an Elite package available to players that unlocks the first 20 Guardians, grants a large sum in-game Ion currency, grants several special outfits, and gives the buyer a 50 percent in-game store discount. Monthly gifted items are also part of the Elite bundle with a new helmet already previewed for the upcoming month. The bundle is normally $100, but the Steam summer sale reduced it to just $50. With the DMCA filed, the Elite package for ORION is also unavailable for purchase at this time.

[Image via Trek Industries]