Yes, Skibidi Toilet in Fortnite. This most internet of crossovers has sparked as much confusion as it has delight. But what does Garry Newman, creator of Garry’s Mod, think about it all?
First, some background. Why would people care what Newman thinks about Skibidi Toilet? Well, Skibidi Toilet is a series of web shorts created by Alxey Gerasimov using Source Filmmaker, Valve’s 3D computer graphics software. Some assets used in the series are taken from video games such as Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source, which form the basis of Garry's Mod's physics sandbox.
Some had wondered whether Newman himself might have taken issue with Fortnite’s Skibidi Toilet bundle. But Newman made his stance on the issue crystal clear: he really doesn’t care at all. Not only that, but he has no interest in a lawsuit, as some have said he should consider. And when you think about it, that makes a lot of sense given the 25 million-selling Garry’s Mod wouldn't exist were it not for Valve’s Half-Life 2.
“I'm 42, I don't care if Fortnite added a skibidi toilet, please stop telling me,” Newman tweeted.
“I'm not gonna sue," he added in another tweet. "Basic logic should tell you this. I don't have any basis, want or need. I don't have ownership to any of it. I didn't make hl2, I didn't make any toilet models, I didn't make sfm, I didn't make any of these videos.
“Plus I'm lazy af, he could be using a photo of me on the toilet and it wouldn't outweigh how much I can't be bothered.”
While Newman has distanced himself from the issue, it does raise questions about who actually owns Skibidi Toilet. Is it Valve, creator of Half-Life 2 and the assets Gerasimov used to make the Skibidi Toilet shorts? Is it Gerasimov himself? Is it someone else?
In July, Newman said the “Skibidi Toilet guys” had hit him with a DMCA in a wild bit of litigious irony. But soon after, an account purporting to be Gerasimov insisted he wasn’t behind the claim, and Newman then told IGN that the matter had been “resolved.”
The copyright holder the DMCA letter was attributed to was Invisible Narratives, the film and TV production studio that’s partnering with Michael Bay on a Skibidi Toilet film. The letter cited Skibidi Toilet characters Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, and Titan TV Man, saying they were "all registered copyrights that are unique and representative of our brand." Sure enough, a public catalog search reveals that Invisible Narratives had indeed claimed a copyright for Titan Cameraman and three other unpublished works.
The letter added that “significant revenue is being generated by unauthorized Skibidi Toilet Garry's Mod games that are being advertised everywhere." The irony was not lost on Newman, who declared: “can you believe the cheek?”
Earlier this year, Facepunch removed all Nintendo-related content on Garry's Mod – what amounted to 20 years of uploads – from Steam Workshop after receiving a takedown request from Nintendo. Newman is currently working on a successor to Garry's Mod called S&box.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.