If you've been paying attention to Roblox news over the past few days, chances are you've seen the unfortunate announcement surrounding the popular Roblox experience, Football Fusion. On Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 the NFL filed a DMCA takedown that removed the experience from Roblox's platform due to copyright issues involving likeness of names, logos, color and color combinations, uniform designs, slogans and other identifying trademarks of the NFL and its Member Clubs.
At the time of this article's publication, there has been no word as to if, or when, Football Fusion will return to Roblox.
What is a DMCA takedown?
A DMCA takedown is filed when a person or company feels as though their copyrighted content is being stolen and/or used without their permission. In the case of Football Fusion, official NFL Marks, as mentioned in the graph above, were used and displayed throughout the experience without the NFL's permission, and were bringing the developer compensation in return. Because of this, the NFL filed the DMCA to have the entire experience removed.
Related: Roblox Promo Codes List (December 2021) – Free Clothes & Items!
Why did Football Fusion get removed?
Due to Football Fusion's direct similarities to the NFL and its use of infringing content, it was swiftly removed from Roblox's platform in its entirety. Even with this black and white answer, however, many players are still wondering why this experience, in particular, was removed when there are hundreds of experiences that still exist on the platform that utilize copyrighted content, likely without the permission of the owner. The answer to this question is quite simple, and it all comes back to brand collaborations.
As Pro Game Guides covered a few weeks ago, the NFL and Roblox have recently partnered up to create the interactive experience, NFL Shop. With this experience came a digital shop that features merchandise from every professional team in the league, along with a free NFL branded helmet. The experience also hints at a possible stadium expansion coming in the near future, where players could have the chance to compete in their own football games against strangers or friends.
Because of this deal, it can be inferred that the NFL is working to remove all unofficial likenesses from the Roblox platform in order to streamline all of the revenue that would have previously come from the infringed NFL-related avatar items and experiences, into their own content output.
Similar to when the Chipotle Boorito Maze was announced, companies are continuing to take notice of the massive amount of traffic and excitement that these Roblox crossovers can potentially garner. Soon, every company, artist, and creator that wants to remain relevant with younger audiences will need to begin making deals with Roblox in order to take the first leap into the metaverse.
When will Football Fusion come back?
Not much has been said by the developer of Football Fusion, xstns, regarding when the experience will return—the only promise that's been made is that it will pop back up on Roblox soon. In light of the DMCA takedown, xstns took to Discord to post a brief update.
This is NOT the end of the game. This is only over the teams. I will work with Roblox to see if I can restore the original URL. If I simply need to reupload the game then I can do that within a week, although there would be data loss. I am contacting Roblox and ppl who have went through this and will update you often.
xstns via the official Football Fusion Discord
Since this update, users in the Discord have gone into a frenzy, wondering when their favorite experience will return and if they will receive any refunds for any in-game purchases that they've made should the game be fully deleted. In response to this, xstns posted a few defeated replies.
Don't talk to me about refunds. The gamepasses are still in your inventory so I can still check even in a separate game.
xstns via the official Football Fusion Discord
While the DMCA takedown continues to play out, xstns has already started reworking Football Fusion into a new game with new teams, hoping to avoid any copyright issues in the future by creating generic names and logos. As to whether or not Football Fusion will be able to return to its existing experience URL still remains unknown at this time.
As for recovering the original URL I'm not confident about that. Another game is going through the same situation and has spent nearly 2 months trying to do that. While I will be working on it in the background, my first plan is to simply reupload to a new game but with teams that are close imitations of the old teams.
xstns via the official Football Fusion Discord
What should I play in the meantime?
Though Football Fusion is one of the most popular sports experiences on Roblox, there are a few others that can be a comparable replacement for the time being. Some sports-related experiences that we at Pro Game Guides would recommend are Football Universe, Super Striker League, and TPS: Street Soccer. If any more updates are given regarding the state of Football Fusion, this article will be adjusted accordingly.
Looking for more Roblox content? Check out the Roblox section of Pro Game Guides often for more code lists, guides, and news articles like this one!
When Grace isn't writing about video games, she's playing them, and probably playing too many at once. Since she was a kid, video games and writing have been her two biggest passions, so getting to combine them for a job has been a dream come true! She's your go-to person for all-things Roblox at PGG, and she's happy to help in whatever way she can!