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Only Up, one of the biggest indie games of 2023 and a huge success with YouTubers and Twitch streamers, is removed from Steam due to the developer’s “stress”.

Only Up, the ultra-challenging, physics-based indie game, has been removed from Steam by its creator owing to “stress.” Created by SCKR Games, Only Up was previously removed from Steam amid accusations of copyright violations connected to various in-game assets. Immensely popular with YouTubers and Twitch streamers, partly because of its intense difficulty, the creator of Only Up has now delisted the game from Valve’s storefront, explaining that they “made a lot of mistakes” and wish to “put the game behind [them].”

Based on data from a variety of tracking sites, at its peak, Only Up attracted some 280,000 concurrent viewers on Twitch. A video of the game from YouTuber Darren Jason Watkins, better known as ‘IShowSpeed,’ has attracted 5.6 million views in two months.

Despite this success, the creator of Only Up has removed the game from Steam, where it is now longer available for purchase. In an accompanying statement, the developer says that they need “peace of mind and healing.”

“I’m a solo developer and this game is my first experience in game dev, a game I did for creativity, to test myself, and where I made a lot of mistakes,” the creator of Only Up, known by studio name SCKR games, explains. “The game has kept me under a lot of stress all these months. Now I want to put the game behind me. And yes, the game won’t be available in the Steam store soon, that’s what I decided myself.”

Following the statement’s publication, Only Up has since disappeared from Steam. Its creator says that they are now planning to begin development on a new game called Kith.

“What I need now is peace of mind and healing,” they explain. “I plan to take a pause, and continue my education in game design and further with new experience [sic] and knowledge to direct my energies to my next game with the working title ‘Kith.’

“It will be a new experience and a new concept with realism, a completely different genre and setting, and the emphasis is on cinematography. This time I hope the project will be created by a small team. This is a challenging project on which I want to significantly improve my skills in game design.”

Though its rating on Valve’s storefront is ‘mostly positive,’ with over 12,000 user reviews, the title on Only Up’s Steam page has been changed to ‘not available’ and it cannot be purchased. The game’s description and player data sections remain live, however.

One of 2023's biggest Twitch games has been removed from Steam, due to developer's stress

Only Up, one of the biggest indie games of 2023 and a huge success with YouTubers and Twitch streamers, is removed from Steam due to the developer’s “stress”.

www.pcgamesn.com

 

[RagnarokIV]

I'm stressed but here's the pitch for my next game coming soon that will be a bold new experience. Also you can't buy this game anymore

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[ahtlas7]

 

[The Cockatrice]

Obviously bullshit. He was forced to take it down probably to avoid anymore copyright laws and was probably even threatened by a big ass corporation for its assets.

 

[kiphalfton]

Good.

Looks like a walking sim.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Oh no, anyway

 

[Robb]

I’ve never even heard of this game.

 

[Codiox]

so its abandonware now.

you can download it for free now?

 

[chlorate]

Only Up was a good game for speedrunning. I don’t really get this

 

[UnNamed]

Take money and run, like Flappy Bird.
In any case no one will notice, most of the people are playing it on Fortnite as a mod.

 

[jayj]

Poor guy really lost it, reminds me of what happened to the Flappy Bird dev. This sudden viral success can really screw with people.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

It's strange that a game that has already been made and released should be a stressful environment for the developer.

Wouldn't he be sitting back counting the money at this point?

Any patches etc... shouldn't be too taxing for a person who built a game on their own...no?

 

[Raonak]

It's strange that a game that has already been made and released should be a stressful environment for the developer.

Wouldn't he be sitting back counting the money at this point?

Any patches etc... shouldn't be too taxing for a person who built a game on their own...no?

Nah it's actually a common thing I hear about indie games that blow up. Theres just not enough manpower to keep up with the amount of feedback. Like some devs have to get community managers just to parse the wall of feedback and keep track of bugs reported.

 

[justiceiro]

Couldn't he just sell the rights for some indie publisher willing to support the game? In the end, he just ended up penalizing his own community for it.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

Nah it's actually a common thing I hear about indie games that blow up. Theres just not enough manpower to keep up with the amount of feedback. Like some devs have to get community managers just to parse the wall of feedback and keep track of bugs reported.

I suppose that makes sense.

It was quite a popular game, wasn't it?

I remember seeing some big streamers playing it.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Poor guy really lost it, reminds me of what happened to the Flappy Bird dev. This sudden viral success can really screw with people.

You never go full Kanye.