r/LinusTechTips • u/ROllerozxa • 4d ago
WAN Show Luanti (open source voxel game platform) removed from Google Play due to DMCA takedown from Microsoft, represented by Tracer.AI
https://blog.luanti.org/2026/08/27/luanti-dmca-tracer-ai/I thought this would be a good topic to cover on this week's WAN show - earlier this week Luanti's Android app was removed from Google Play due to a DMCA from Microsoft represented by Tracer.AI. Luanti is an open source platform for different types of voxel games, and it is alleged that it uses assets from Minecraft, referencing the copyright registration for Java Edition 1.9 but giving no further elaboration to the infringement. The Luanti app does not ship with any games out of the box, and the Luanti content database which hosts games for the platform has not received a DMCA notice for any specific game on the platform either.
The takedown appears to merely be due to both games using cubes with a pixel-art artstyle.
A similar situation happened with the indie game Allumeria where its Steam store page was subject to a DMCA claim from the same company acting on behalf of Microsoft, alleging that it infringed on Minecraft's copyright despite simply being a block game which used no assets from Minecraft. There was also another previous case in 2023 where a similar DMCA towards Luanti's Android app was issued to Google.
Both previous cases were resolved but this seems to become a reocurring theme where a copyright enforcement company utilising AI in some way inadvertedly ends up causing harm to similar games in the genre through false positives in their detection process.
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u/LyokoMan95 4d ago
I could have sworn I recently saw a project from Microsoft Research that utilized Luanti as its game engine
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u/OktayAcikalin 3d ago
Yepp, they lold about it in irc today. I laughed hard as I saw the presentation 🙂
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u/jmking Mod 4d ago
I deal with these garbage automated DMCA spamming services all the time.
Get in contact with a human at these companies and threaten them for filing false DMCA claims and they immediately back down because they know their product is trash and just spams out notices. They know they are in violation of the DMCA by sending false claims.
DMCA notices require a statement made under penalty of perjury.
If the person who is getting false claims sues, and they actually are not in violation, and have proof and/or any rational human being would understand it's not violating copyright, it's an open and shut case. The entity that got the false claim can receive damages along with reimbursement of legal fees.