Accessories brand Dbrand has revealed that it won't be going ahead with its Companion Cube skin for the Steam Machine, which would have turned Valve's cube-shaped PC into one of the famous blocks from the Portal games. This is largely due to Dbrand never having permission to use the Companion Cube, which Valve owns as part of the Portal IP, something that the accessories maker admits was a mistake on its end.
In a Reddit announcement, Dbrand reveals that the excitement around the Steam Machine Companion Cube skin made it get a bit ahead of itself. The team working on the skin put in "more than a thousand hours" in designing the accessory, but all the work was done without anyone asking if Valve was okay with its IP being used this way.
"Unfortunately, being proud of the thing we made did not give us the right to make it," the post reads. When the Companion Cube skin launched on the 22nd of June, the same day that the Steam Machine sign-ups opened, it was Dbrand's second-fastest selling product in its history. Sadly, moments after this success, Valve issued that everything related to the Companion Cube skin be taken down.
"We took everything down and made an appeal. We asked Valve whether there was any way to keep the project alive: properly licensed, with their blessing, on their terms. They said no. Given our backwards approach of building first and asking permission later, it was a fair answer," Dbrand explained.
Anyone who ordered one of the cubes will be getting a refund, but sadly it won't be landing in your post box anytime soon. At least the meme was there while it lasted, but sadly you won't be playing games on a Companion Cube anytime soon.