Over the past few days, many have found their levels summarily blocked by Sony and LittleBigPlanet's developers, Media Molecule, because they allegedly breach someone else's intellectual property. Even minor copyright violations such as references to characters from other games are being "moderated", and players are given no option to remove the offending content and republish their levels.

Aside from copyright offences, players can find their levels removed if there is any content that would be "unsuitable for users of all ages", a moderator on the game's official forum said. One forum member, Rocktave, said his level was deleted because it included items related to Sonic The Hedgehog and Metal Gear Solid, which were created by other players. "I think I'm done with this little experiment. I had to delete my level that I spent hours working on, because it wouldn't load, copy, or move, so any desire I had to play this game is completely gone now," he wrote.

Another had their level deleted because its name, Failure to Launch, was shared by a 2006 romantic comedy movie. Several other members complained their levels were blocked despite containing no offensive or copyrighted material, with no explanation given. Many are saying they have now lost their motivation to play the game.

"I'm so depleted right now, I can't even think of wanting to create another one after my first one got deleted, dont want to spend another 7hrs+ making one just for it to get deleted again," wrote Josh1122. Last month, the launch of LittleBigPlanet was delayed and all stock recalled because music lyrics in a background song contained two lines from the Koran, which could have caused offence to Muslims. While other games have allowed players to create their own levels, LittleBigPlanet's success stems from the fact that it is easy for anyone to customise the game completely using simple tools and to share their creations with the public.

Media Molecule originally said players would be limited only by their imagination but has since become significantly more draconian, without any word of legal threats from other game publishers. "If a level is found to be in violation of the EULA [End User License Agreement] it will be moderated," a community manager for the game wrote on the official forum.

"We're moving towards a system where additional information is given, however for the time being if you don't want your level moderating avoid anything unsuitable for users of all ages and copyright content." Sony Australia declined to comment.