Despite having loyal fans from all walks of life, theCooking Mamaseries has not exactly been one to make headlines. That all changed recently with the release and subsequent removal ofCooking Mama: Cookstarled torumors of cryptocurrency mininggoing on as the game played, which many players obviously found alarming.
Cooking Mamawasg pulled from the Nintendo eShop almost immediately after its release, and pulled from other retailers almost as quickly. In addition, players reported that the game made their Switch consoles run particularly hot, leading many to believe it was doing something malicious as they were playing it.
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Now the mystery has been somewhat cleared up, as the developer and IP holder ofCooking Mama: Cookstarhas released a statement that there is no cryptocurrencymining software in the game. While there were reports that some of the game’s music had been directly ripped from YouTube without permission of the owners, this does not appear to be the primary reason the game was pulled either. Instead, the reason seems to have been that the publisher, Planet Entertainment, began distribution of the game without the permission of the IP holder, Office Create.
In a statement, Office Create elaborated it had licensed theCooking MamaIP to Planet Entertainment LLC, which handed development of the game off to 1st Playable Productions. Eventually, Planet Entertainment submitted the product to Office Create, which stated that it “failed to meet the standards that our customers expect and deserve,” and instructed Planet Entertainment to have the game fixed and updated.
Instead of fixing up the game and re-submitting it for Office Create’s approval, Planet Entertainment began distributing the game. Sales of the game were unauthorized by the company that actually owns theCooking Mamaseries and it seems thatOffice Create may be pursuing legal action in the near future.
Additionally, Planet Entertainment was advertising a PS4 version ofCooking Mama: Cookstar. According to Office Create, it did not license Planet to create a PS4 version ofCookstaror any otherCooking Mamagame, and stating that Planet has not given a statement on the PS4 version’s status.WhenCookstarleaked months ago, nobody could have foreseen the strangeness that would accompany it.
1st Playable Productions is best known for child-centric games, a genre whichCookstarcan fit into, although it has also appealed to a wider market. It is not currently known whether or not 1st Playable also developed the PS4 version, although it seems certain that version will not be around for thisPS4 Spring Sale.
