Itch.io Site Temporarily Taken Offline by Funko

Itch.io, the online indie creator store for things like video games, table top games, music albums, books, comics, and game assets, was briefly taken offline between December 8-9, 2024. The cause ended up being a domain report originating from Funko, the manufacturers of Funko Pop figures and other merchandise.

The operators of Itch.io detailed the site takedown on social media sites like Bluesky. It was the result of a brand protection software called Brand Shield. On December 8, 2024, the AI powered system fired off a phishing report to the domain registrar, iwantmyname, on behalf of Funko. In doing so, despite reports to the contrary from Itch.io, the domain was disabled by iwantmyname. This resulted in the site going down until December 9, 2024.

Itch.io also reported that, upon receiving the notice on behalf of Funko, the creators of the game store immediately took down the page on the site that had triggered the dispute. Even after doing this, the AI automated system being used still flagged the site and went forward with the takedown.

As of December 9, 2024, Itch.io is back to full functionality, and the domain and all its functions are free to access for creators and browsers alike. Funko did not issue a statement to address the issue or what specifically it was that caused it.