Wizards of the Coast has apologised for its DMCA takedown of a Stardew Valley mod based on Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Village is a fan-made mod which took more than a year to make, and adds a new village map to Stardew Valley which contains characters from Baldur’s Gate 3, including more than 20 NPCs, six locations and new dynamic events.
The mod was so well received that Swen Vincke, CEO of Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian, took to X to praise it, stating: “So much love went into this – amazing work!”
Things took a negative turn, however, when Wizards of the Coast – which owns the Dungeons & Dragons brand and all related IP (including Baldur’s Gate) – issued a DMCA takedown of the mod, pulling it offline.
Fans of both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Stardew Valley responded angrily to the company’s decision, and even Vincke criticised it, saying: “Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth. IMHO they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property.
“Protecting your IP can be tricky but I do hope this gets settled. There are good ways of dealing with this,” Vincke added.
Now Wizards of the Coast has released a statement claiming the DMCA takedown was issued in error, and that it’s taking steps to rectify the issue so the mod can be made available again.
“The Baldur’s Village DMCA takedown was issued mistakenly – we are sorry about that,” a statement to PC Gamer read. “We are in the process of fixing that now so fans and the Stardew community can continue to enjoy this great mod.”
Last year, after stating that Larian was moving on from the Dungeons & Dragons universe to try its hand at something else, Vincke had to take to social media to stress that the decision wasn’t down to a falling out between Larian and Wizards of the Coast.
“WOTC is not to blame for us taking a different direction,” Vincke wrote on X. “On the contrary, they really did their best and have been a great licensor for us, letting us do our thing. This is because it’s what’s best for Larian.”
