A24 reportedly copyright-striking Backrooms indie games and fan art it doesn't own

A24 Films LLC is reportedly issuing copyright strikes against indie developers and artists creating Backrooms-inspired content — content that, legally speaking, belongs to no one. Multiple creators on the r/backrooms subreddit have come forward with claims, and the situation has already caused real damage to at least one small studio.

Reddit user GnarlyNet was the first to go public, reporting that A24 hit their Backrooms-inspired wallpaper artwork on Redbubble with a takedown notice. GnarlyNet was clear that the design was based on the original 2019 Backrooms image — the one that spawned the entire creepypasta phenomenon — not anything from A24's film. Indie studio Davilkus Games got hit harder: three copyright strikes landed on their Google Play account this month, resulting in a full account ban. Their game, originally called Exit the Backrooms: Level 94, had to be renamed Liminal Complex: Level 94 after Google flagged it for violating its impersonation policy. According to Davilkus, at least three other small indie devs had their games suspended on the same morning — July 3rd — while larger studios with Backrooms games appeared to be untouched. Other artists have also had work pulled from Redbubble in what looks like a broader automated enforcement sweep.

The Backrooms concept originated in a 2019 4chan thread featuring a photograph taken in 2002 by an independent photographer — it was never owned by anyone, and has since spawned a massive ecosystem of fan games, YouTube videos, and artwork. Kane Parsons, the director of A24's Backrooms film, built his career on exactly that community before A24 picked up his project. The film launched earlier this year and was a genuine box office hit, pulling in nearly $375 million against a $10 million budget. A24 does hold rights to its specific film adaptation and related merchandise — including a special edition wallpaper it released to tie in with the movie — but those rights don't extend to the broader concept or the community's visual language. The studio has also been under fire recently for a $75 million AI research partnership with Google's DeepMind, a deal that drew sharp criticism from fans and filmmakers alike.

Parsons himself responded on the subreddit, writing "I'm looking into this. Should not be happening" — a signal that even the film's director didn't sanction the strikes. Kotaku reached out to A24 for comment and received no reply before publication. The working theory is that A24 is running an automated content enforcement system that's casting far too wide a net, but no official explanation has been given. The community is watching closely to see whether the strikes get reversed and whether A24 addresses the situation directly.