Block’Em! [RELISTED]

	Digital Release	Steam September 08, 2022
	Delisting	September 09, 2022
	Relisting	March 08, 2023
	Developer	Cat Shawl Games
	Publisher	Curve Games
	Available On	Steam
	Links	SteamDB page

Relisting

Cat Shawl Games announced on the game’s Steam Community forums on February 15, 2023 that Block’Em! would return to Steam on March 8, 2023. This was seemingly done in spite of a planned simship of the Steam release and the currently unreleased Nintendo Switch release. The original delisting information follows:

Delisting

Block’Em! was delisted on Steam on September 9th, 2022, one day after its release and coincidentally the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Seemingly unrelated to the game itself, Block’Em! began receiving negative reviews with reportedly “sensitive and unacceptable” comments relating to the queen and Great Britain at large. This negatively affected the game’s standings on Steam and publisher Curve Games chose to remove it from sale.

Some days later, on September 13th, announcements were made on the game’s Steam Community forums and on the Block’Em! twitter account about the situation:

I’m the studio lead for Cat Shawl Games and game director/producer for Block’Em. We are a small team of 3-4 people who have been working on this game for quite a while now. It started as a school project, and we were excited to see it come to fruition.

Our publisher, Curve Games, temporarily retired Block’Em! from the Steam Store due to highly sensitive and unacceptable comments on the platform unrelated to the game. The Curve Games team are continuing to review the situation internally.

Mini FAQ:

When will the game be back online?
We do not know yet when it will be back up. It is in the hands of our publisher, Curve Games.

What about my game key I bought (at an external store)?
When the game goes back online, all keys will still be valid. If you don’t want to wait, we suggest refunding it for now – Steam should be able to help you, even if you got a third party key.

Is this referring to the Queen Steam reviews?
Yes, those are the highly sensitive and unacceptable comments that made Curve act.

But why?
Curve Games is a British company. I am not British, and therefore I do not fully understand the cultural significance of the recent events, and so will not try to explain or justify their actions. It is not my place.

Steam Announcement – September 13, 2022

In a forum reply on December 12th, one of the developers at Cat Shawl Games provided a brief update stating that Curve now wanted to release the game on Steam at the same time it was released on consoles, so far only confirmed for Nintendo Switch. That date would be “months away” however, at some point in 2023. As of this update in February of 2023 there has been no news on an updated release for Block’Em!.

About the Game

Block’Em! is an action-filled block-building party game for 2 to 4 players! The controls are simple but the road to victory is complex. Be the first to reach the goal or be the last Blocky standing!

Cute, addictive and fast paced party game to be enjoyed by 2-4 players. Outsmarting your opponent with cunning moves is easier said than done!

An exciting mix of platform and puzzle! Find your way through the vibrant, chaotic arena. Watch out for the fireballs!

Block’Em brings out your competitive side. A sure way to make friendships stronger… or not!

Beat your opponents in a race to the finish or be the last Block to survive.

Eat. Sleep. Block’Em. Repeat.

Thanks to Wakayama_PT for submitting this game to the site