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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsitch.io was briefly inaccessible on December 9, 2024, after a brand-protection report made on Funko’s behalf reached the platform’s domain registrar, iwantmyname. itch.io said BrandShield had submitted a bogus phishing report about one page on the site; Funko said it had requested action against only that specific page, not the entire itch.io platform.
The domain was restored later the same day. The most accurate description is that a dispute over one Funko-related page escalated into a registrar-level domain shutdown—not that Funko directly deleted or permanently banned itch.io.
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What happened to itch.io?
On December 9, 2024, itch.io said its domain had been disabled after BrandShield, a brand-protection service used by Funko, sent a report to iwantmyname, itch.io’s registrar. The platform’s official statement, posted at 07:13 UTC, described the report as a bogus phishing claim. itch.io’s statement said the incident had taken the entire site offline.
Contemporary reports described the outage as lasting several hours, with itch.io returning later that morning. This was a temporary domain outage, not the deletion of itch.io’s servers, storefronts, games, or user accounts.
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The dispute reportedly began with one Funko Fusion page
According to itch.io founder Leaf Corcoran, the report concerned a fan page related to Funko’s video game Funko Fusion. Corcoran said the page appeared to include links to the official site and screenshots. itch.io said it removed the page after receiving notice because contesting the report was not worth the effort. Ars Technica reported Corcoran’s account.
The original BrandShield complaint, its exact classification, and the disputed page’s URL were not publicly available in the sources reviewed. It therefore cannot be established from the public record whether the page violated Funko’s copyright, trademark, or other rights.
How a page-level complaint affected the whole domain
The incident involved several separate steps:
- Funko used BrandShield, a third-party service designed to identify suspected brand abuse, fraud, impersonation, phishing, and intellectual-property violations.
- BrandShield reportedly sent a complaint concerning a particular itch.io page.
- iwantmyname disabled the itch.io domain, according to itch.io’s account and subsequent reporting.
- itch.io responded and addressed the complaint, after which the registrar restored the domain.
A registrar-level action is different from removing a page from a platform. A registrar controls a domain’s registration and related DNS status. If the root domain is suspended or redirected, every page using that domain can become unreachable—even if the platform’s underlying hosting, files, and databases remain online.
The available accounts suggest that the registrar’s process may have treated the issue as unresolved after the page was removed, but the registrar’s exact internal workflow has not been publicly documented. There is also no public evidence establishing whether BrandShield’s report was produced entirely by software, reviewed by a human, or approved by Funko before submission.
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What did Funko say?
Funko’s response was the key qualification to itch.io’s initial framing. Funko said it had requested action against one specific page and had not asked for the entire itch.io platform to be taken offline. It also expressed satisfaction that the site had returned.
That means the headline claim that “Funko took down itch.io” is understandable as shorthand for the reported chain of events, but it is incomplete. Funko’s position was that its complaint targeted a page and that the platform-wide outage resulted from the registrar or another intermediary disabling the root domain.
No dedicated official Funko press release about the incident was located. The company’s relevant press-release hub is available for reference, while contemporary coverage provides the reported response.
Was this a DMCA takedown?
Not based on the public descriptions available. itch.io called the incident a phishing report, while the underlying dispute apparently involved Funko-related branding or material. Funko described its action as a request concerning a specific page.
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itch.io does maintain a copyright-notice process in its terms of service, but the public accounts of this incident do not establish that a standard DMCA notice was used. It is more accurate to describe the immediate result as a domain-level disablement following an abuse or phishing report.
What itch.io said
itch.io’s initial public account blamed a BrandShield report made on Funko’s behalf for prompting the registrar to disable the domain. In a later community discussion, the platform said it had already removed the reported page and suggested that a failure to properly close or acknowledge the case may have contributed to the domain-level outage. itch.io’s follow-up discussion presents that explanation as the platform’s account, not as an independent finding.
itch.io also indicated that, if the outage lasted more than eight hours, it might prioritize deploying a new domain. That comment reinforces that the platform viewed the event as a temporary domain-access problem rather than a permanent closure.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How long was itch.io unavailable?
Reports said itch.io was inaccessible for several hours during December 9, 2024, and returned later that day. Without a reliable primary uptime log, an exact outage duration should not be inferred. The domain’s restoration was reported after itch.io responded to the notice and took appropriate action.
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The outage may have interrupted game discovery, purchases, downloads, developer storefronts, game-jam pages, and community projects. However, no complete public incident report quantified lost sales, failed downloads, or the number of affected users.
What remains unverified?
- The original BrandShield complaint and its precise wording.
- The exact URL and contents of the reported page.
- Whether BrandShield’s report was fully automated or reviewed by a person.
- Whether Funko approved the exact report before it was sent.
- Why iwantmyname disabled the root domain instead of limiting action to one page.
- The financial or user impact of the outage.
For those reasons, claims that the page was definitely infringing, that an AI independently decided to shut down itch.io, or that Funko directly ordered a platform-wide ban go beyond the available evidence.
Why the incident matters
The episode illustrates the collateral damage that can occur when reports about user-generated content are routed through infrastructure providers. A platform can remove a disputed page yet remain exposed if a registrar interprets the complaint as a domain-level abuse issue or does not receive confirmation that the matter is resolved.
It also shows why “AI takedown” is an oversimplification. The public record supports a chain involving a commercial brand-protection vendor, Funko, itch.io, and iwantmyname. It does not reveal which decisions were automated, which were human, or how the final suspension was authorized.
For users and developers, the practical distinction is important: losing access to a domain does not necessarily mean a platform’s underlying data has been destroyed. For platforms, the incident highlights the value of clear escalation paths, rapid notice handling, independent review, and backup domains or communication channels.
The bottom line on the Funko-itch.io takedown
itch.io was briefly taken offline on December 9, 2024, after a Funko-linked BrandShield report about an apparently specific Funko Fusion-related page reached its registrar. itch.io characterized the report as bogus and said the registrar disabled the whole domain; Funko denied asking for a platform-wide shutdown. The site was restored the same day, making this a short-lived registrar-level outage rather than a permanent Funko ban or closure of itch.io.
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