Dino Patti and Arnt Jensen, the minds behind Playdead, have found themselves embroiled in a public disagreement over intellectual property rights. The issue can be traced back to a LinkedIn post from 2024, which was taken down. In it, Patti shared an image belonging to Jensen. This led to Jensen demanding 500,000 Danish Kroner (approximately $72,600) from Patti as “suitable compensation and reimbursement,” as reported by Game Developer.
In what Patti described as a “legal love letter,” Jensen’s legal team issued a warning via a LinkedIn post. They stated, “We must reiterate our warning that any ongoing use of Playdead’s assets and the sharing or exploitation of insider information for commercial purposes infringes on confidentiality agreements.”
The lawyers added, “By sharing key insights into the creation of Limbo, you mistakenly imply that you had a major role, creatively, in the game’s development. This misleads business partners and the gaming community into believing you were significantly involved in the creative aspects of Limbo, which is not accurate.”
Patti has publicly accused Jensen of past attempts to “bully” him, explaining his decision to air the issue openly.
Playdead responded in an email to Game Developer, noting that they have “submitted demands” to Patti concerning what they view as “infringement and unauthorized use of Playdead’s trademarks and copyrighted works within a commercial and marketing framework.”
The statement from the studio stressed, “We’ve found it essential to take this step to safeguard our trademarks and copyrights, given their critical role in maintaining Playdead’s business integrity and reputation.”
Founded in xxx, Playdead gained acclaim with its indie hits Limbo, released in 2010, and 2016’s Inside. Patti parted ways with the company in 2016, after a reported fallout with Jensen.
