"You and I will have legal problems": FPS dev threatens action against rival streamers who've taken more than $10k "from studios we compete with"

Operation: Harsh Doorstop
(Image credit: Drakeling Labs)

The lead developer behind free-to-play first-person shooter Operation: Harsh Doorstop has posted a "warning" to content creators reviewing his game, threatening legal action against those he says are accepting "payments from studios we compete with."

Writing in a recent online post, Operation: Harsh Doorstop creator "Bluedrake42" shares several words of caution: "A warning to every content creator when our update for Operation: Harsh Doorstop drops. If you have taken over $10,000 USD in payments from studios we compete with in the last 12 months and you don't disclose that in any 'review' you create about our game, then you and I will have legal problems."

The dev continues, explaining that he's "tired" of content creators' "hit pieces" on games like Operation: Harsh Doorstop. "You aren't an 'independent journalist' you are a paid contractor for our competitor," writes Bluedrake42, "and I'm tired of watching you all get paid off to do hit pieces on games that don't fork cash over to you." He then says he'll "post more warnings clarifying this as we get closer to the release date."

Summarizing his thoughts, the dev says "if you're just going to post fake content attacking games that don't pay you off, then quite frankly I don't want you covering our game at all."

Bluedrake42 doesn't stop there, though. "I know this might come as a shock to many of you who are used to community managers being paid off to stroke your ego and beg you for coverage, but you'll find out very quickly that we don't operate that way."

He concludes by declaring that all users who repost his warning "will receive a Steam key to our launch playtest," as "I want to figure out which of you all are the good ones." The dev states that he doesn't "want fake people in my corner." Subsequent comments see followers ask Bluedrake42 who he considers to be his "competitors," to which he replies "Squad, Delta Force, Battlefield, Arma – any realistic/semi-realistic FPS."

Searching for a good shooter to play right now? Here are the best FPS games out there.

CATEGORIES
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

Read more
The Dark Urge leads a reign of terror in Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 dev continues to champion indie games, begging Steam to let him overpay the creators of his favorite games
Helldivers 2 Killzone skins
Arrowhead CEO addresses Helldivers 2 Killzone crossover prices, admits this didn't hit "the sweet spot" and says "we will persevere and improve things in due course"
Screenshot from Spectre Divide, showing a character in a purple jumpsuit and full face mask aiming their gun.
Despite more than $60 million in investments, Shroud-backed FPS Spectre Divide and its dev are shutting down after the first season failed "to cover day-to-day costs"
A Helldiver from Helldivers 2 stand proudly atop a pile of Terminids.
Perhaps forgetting his game is a loaded parody of fascism, Helldivers 2 director says, "Make good games, don't make a contemporary political statement"
Limbo
"You can't rewrite the past just because of a bad breakup": Legendary indie devs' feud is going public
The two characters in Split Fiction in futuristic bodysuits staring at a huge crack in the simulation they're in
Split Fiction and It Takes Two director still hates microtransactions: "I think it's a huge problem and it's stopping our industry from a creative perspective"
Latest in FPS Games
Screenshot from PowerWash Simulator 2, showing two jet washers spraying one dirty wooden house.
After 3 years and 44,327 overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews, viral hit PowerWash Simulator is finally getting a sequel complete with split-screen co-op
Screenshot from Spectre Divide, showing a character in a purple jumpsuit and full face mask aiming their gun.
Despite more than $60 million in investments, Shroud-backed FPS Spectre Divide and its dev are shutting down after the first season failed "to cover day-to-day costs"
Counter-Strike 2 release trailer screenshot showing an old-style white desktop PC running the Counter-Strike menu atop a wooden desk
After concerns from Valve, creators of CS:GO mod that aimed to "recreate the 1.6 vibe" are now "auditing the current build" to comply with guidelines
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Battlefield dev reveals more of his Bad Company 3 script and confirms the plot would revolve around the squad getting kicked out of the military and brought back for a final suicide mission
A Titan readies for combat in an animated trailer for Apex Legends Season 19
Yet another Respawn shooter has reportedly been canceled, following the studio's Star Wars FPS and rumored Titanfall Legends game to the grave
Latest in News
the last campfire screenshot showing the protagonist talking to a giant frog
Can't wait for the No Man's Sky dev's new game Light No Fire? Well, its latest and much smaller game is $1.49 in the Steam Spring Sale 2025
Avengers: Endgame
The Russo brothers reveal that Marvel has an ingenious way of working out which actors they can use for upcoming Avengers movies
Zone of the enders 2 screenshot showing mechs battling
One of Hideo Kojima's most overlooked games is under $6 in the Steam Spring Sale 2025 to make the wait for Death Stranding 2 more bearable
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams dancing during the Netflix series, Wednesday.
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega denies rumors of big Marvel role after her disappointing MCU debut 12 years ago: “I count that and I move on”
Silent Hill f key art showing the main character holding a pipe
Silent Hill f trailer suggests Konami’s newest nightmare will bring back an iconic weapon central to every game in the franchise
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Percy Jackson series gets unusually early renewal for season 3 before upcoming season 2 even airs