The itch.io games website disappeared but is now back online. Toy manufacturer Funko faces blame

As a result of a „fake phishing notification,” the entire itch.io website was down for some time. The culprit is the toy company Funko.

Martin Bukowski

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Source: itch.io

Shortly after the publication of our text, itch.io apparently came back to life. You can now access the site and download/purchase games.

At the moment, itch.io isn't working. It is a popular website dedicated to independent games, among other things. The entire website was shut down as a result of a "false phishing report."

As reported on X, Funko, a company that produces toys, is responsible for the situation. It used special software that employed artificial intelligence to safeguard the brand, and this software sent a fake notification to the itch.io registrar.

I kid you not, itchio has been taken down by OriginalFunko because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called BrandShield that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, who ignored our response and just disabled the domain.

The itch.io games website disappeared but has now returned. Toy manufacturer Funko faces blame - picture #1
Itch.io post on X.

The page reported by Funko was quickly removed, but the domain was still disabled, probably by automated systems. It's unknown at this time how long itch.io will remain unavailable. It's important to note that this is a big issue, as the site is a source of earnings for many developers worldwide, leading to potential financial losses.

On the itch.io profile on X, updates on the situation are being added. The servers are constantly operational, and there were intentions to start a new domain. However, this was associated with certain problems, so we will most likely have to wait out the breakdown.

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Martin Bukowski

Author: Martin Bukowski

Graduate of Electronics and Telecommunications at the Gdańsk University of Technology, who decided to dedicate his life to video games. In his childhood, he would get lost in the Gothic's Valley of Mines and "grind for gold" in League of Legends. Twenty years later, games still entertain him just as much. Today, he considers the Persona series and soulslike titles from From Software as his favorite games. He avoids consoles, and a special place in his heart is reserved for PC. In his spare time, he works as a translator, is creating his first game, or spends time watching movies and series (mainly animated ones).