A24 Films LLC issued copyright takedown notices targeting fan art and indie games inspired by the Backrooms, including artwork on Redbubble and games on the Google Play Store, in early July 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The affected works included a yellow wallpaper pattern based on the original 2019 Backrooms image and indie titles such as Backrooms: Level 94 [1, 2, 3].
At least four small indie developers, including Davilkus Games, faced similar copyright strikes on Google Play, leading to removal of their Backrooms-themed games as early as July 3 [3]. A Reddit user reported a copyright takedown on Redbubble on July 14, followed by multiple fan artists and developers posting about related takedowns linked to A24 on July 15 [1, 2, 3, 4].
Director Kane Parsons publicly addressed the issue late on July 15, calling the takedowns a mistake and pledging to investigate. "I’m looking into this. Should not be happening," Parsons wrote on Reddit [1]. He described Backrooms as an open, public domain concept and emphasized that A24 never intended to target fan creations. Parsons said he was "heavily pressuring" A24 to resolve the matter quickly and confirmed the takedown notices were due to an outsourced automated system aimed at preventing camrips, which incorrectly flagged fan works [5, 4].
On July 17, A24 issued a statement via Instagram clarifying it does not claim ownership over the yellow wallpaper, original posts, or community works inspired by Backrooms. The company said it is working to reinstate the affected listings and continues to support fan artists. The statement read, "A24 makes no claim of ownership over the yellow wallpaper, the original post referencing it, or any of the community works that have since been built around it. We will continue to support the artists who, like Kane, were inspired by it" [1, 5, 4].
A24’s Backrooms film, which had a budget of $10 million, earned $375 million at the box office in 2023 [5]. Parsons stressed that Backrooms is only part of a "bigger ecosystem" with a creative community that deserves the right to tell their own stories [5].
The affected fan art and games began to be restored following the clarification, and A24 continues to work on fully undoing the automated copyright strikes [5, 4].
