2024-03-27
"Relic Castle was a home to many of us"
The popular website Relic Castle — a forum for sharing Pokémon fan games — has been shut down after being served a DMCA takedown notice by an as-yet-undisclosed source (thanks, Kotaku).
Relic Castle was founded in 2014 as a way to share and discuss Pokémon fan games amongst the community. These games were never hosted on Relic Castle itself, with the forum instead serving as a hub for links to other third-party websites such as Mediafire. Nonetheless, it had managed to rack up 20,000 members and around 65,000 posts in its 10-year lifespan.
The site's owner and manager issued a statement on Twitter last week, confirming that Relic Castle has now been taken down — though it is "still visible as an archive using the Wayback Machine". The message thanks all those who have used the site over the past decade and affirms that the Relic Castle Discord server is here to stay.
Here's the full text of the statement itself followed by the tweet:
Dear Pokémon fan game community,
It is with heavy heart that I announce that the Relic Castle website has been taken down following a DMCA takedown notice.
Relic Castle has always been a non-profit, ad-free, tight-knit community and we pride ourselves in what we have achieved. Members have felt at home, made friends, and even careers with us. It is with deep regret that I have to inform you that the forum part of this community, which was to turn 10 years old this year, has had to come to an end. With over 20,000 members and 65,000 posts, Relic Castle was a home to many of us.
The Discord server is not going anywhere, and the site is still visible as an archive using the Wayback Machine.
Thank you all for being with us this last decade, and thank you for making Relic Castle as awesome and life-changing as it has been for some of us.
Sincerely,
Marin (Owner) & Andy (Manager)
As you might notice in the above message, Relic Castle has not disclosed who issued the DMCA that led to the takedown.
Earlier this month, the Switch emulator Yuzu and 3DS emulator Citra were shut down following an increased legal push from Nintendo.
Source: Nintendolife.com
