DoomRL Goes Open-Source in Face of Copyright Claims

Just call it DRL now.

Earlier this week, ZeniMax Medi hit DoomRL, a popular roguelike version of the original first-person shooter, with a cease-and-desist order. This order instructed producer ChaosForge to remove the free downloadable game to prevent further legal action. Instead of taking it down, co-creator Kornel Kisielewicz turned the game open-source.

Kisielewicz shared the letter earlier on Twitter at the end of last week. It cites ChaosForge’s “unauthorized use of ZeniMax’s intellectual property” as reason for the letter.

Many feared Doom the Roguelike would be shut down for good. But the fan-made game is still available online, albeit with a few changes. DoomRL is now just DRL, and all Doom branding has been removed from the game. Kisielewicz told Polygon that this was always the plan, but ZeniMax’s order forced him to make the changes earlier than intended.

“Originally,” he said, “I was going to do it at the end of the Jupiter Hell Kickstarter, as a thank you to the fans, but with the need to respond to ZeniMax’s letter I’ve had to move that forwards.”

Jupiter Hell is ChaosForge’s spiritual successor to DoomRL. The Kickstarter page calls it “a modern turn-based sci-fi roguelike with modern 3D graphics.” The project has a few days left, and they’re about $20,000 shy of their donation goal.

Kisielewicz went on to tell Polygon, “Jupiter Hell has been occupying most of my time for several years now, and work on it will only crank up from here. Open-sourcing DRL lets me rely on community support much more strongly. It also gives the community the chance to fork or expand or mod it as they see fit, and I look forward to seeing what creativity they can produce.”

You can download DRL for free now! Does the lack of obvious Doom references lessen the appeal of DRL? Or is it just as fun as ever? Let us know in the comments!