Brutkey

Princess Serena Star ✨✨
@Starcross@mk.absturztau.be

Update on a game I previously recommended:
"Spirit City: LoFi Sessions" (will be referred as "SC" onward) has unfortunately pulled a bait and switch on its players. SC has been using "Homework Radio" as its soundtrack since its release. Every playlist that players have to choose from is from them. SC devs recently made 2 announcements that are concerning and disappointing.
1. Their partnership with Homework Radio ends on August 25th, alongside the release of their train DLC. This means SC will no longer have Homework Radio music to listen to
2. The new partnership is with Lofi Girl, and all Homework Radio music will be replaced with that of Lofi Girl's repertoire.
I feel like this is a total bait and switch since we paid for the game which showcased Homework Radio music and is a major part of the game as a whole. Devs say "you can still listen using the in-game browser". This does not solve the issue - the browser does not block ads, so you'll have constant interruptions from YouTube.
As a result, I had changed my review to "Not Recommended" to show my displeasure with these moves. I feel like the game devs have basically said to their users "You do not own this game, and we will rip out and switch content as we please".
Pictures attached show the important parts of the statements.
They are fully linked below:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2113850/view/525350789598675715?l=english (Music licensing announcement)
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2113850/view/525350789598675793?l=english (New partnership)

A screenshot of the Steam announcements feed for Spirit City: Lofi Sessions: The first announcement excerpt from Aug 11, 2025 says: "Mooncube Games Joins the Lofi Girl Universe Hello Spiritographers! We're excited to share some big news with you! Mooncube Games is officially joining the Lofi Girl family! We are now officially part of Lofi Gaming, the video game division of Lofi Girl, built to explore new ways of..." The second announcement clip from Aug 10, 2025 says: "Music partnership update 🎵We have an important update to share with our community🎵 Our partnership with Homework Radio will officially come to an end on August 25th, coinciding with the release of the..." The Aug 10, 2025 announcement titled "Music partnership update" reads: "🎵We have an important update to share with our community🎵 Our partnership with Homework Radio will officially come to an end on August 25th, coinciding with the release of the All Aboard! DLC. It has been a true pleasure working with the Homework Radio team. Their calming, beautiful lofi music has been the heartbeat of Spirit City: Lofi Sessions since day one. We are incredibly grateful for their creativity, professionalism and support since we released last year. 🎶 (highlighted) *This means that the current Homework Radio music tracks and content will be replaced on August 25th.* We’ll be sharing updates about what’s next for the game’s soundtrack in the coming days. Check out our FAQ below for more details. If you want to keep listening to the Spirit City music curated by Homework Radio, you can find them here: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZV3dvtFWNmeP3QYnpr9b6?si=699ef35332c14a6b Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeworkRadio Please support Homework Radio and their amazing artists by: Following them on social media: https://www.getsl.ink/homeworkradio Subscribing to their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeworkRadio They’re doing incredible work and deserve all the love. 💗Thank you, Homework Radio and all the amazing music artists💗 For the vibes and for supporting us on this journey so far. FAQ: Q: I really liked the existing music in-game, is there any way I can keep listening to it? A: The music will be available to listen on Homework Radios Channels: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZV3dvtFWNmeP3QYnpr9b6?si=699ef35332c14a6b Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeworkRadio Q: When will we know more about the new music? A: We expect to post a Steam announcement about it in the coming days, and we’re very excited for this announcement to hit your news feed. Q: Will there be as many songs and playlists as before? A: Yes! We’ve worked extra hard to make sure we’ll still have the same number of playlists covering the same moods, and to offer the same amount of content for each playlist. Q: Will the new music still be stream-friendly? A: Yes! One of the key points of Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is for content creators to be able to use the in-game music while streaming, so this is very important for us to keep. As before though, the music coming from the in-game web browser cannot be guaranteed to be stream-friendly. Q: Will the new music be AI-generated? A: Absolutely not. That was never the case, we believe in the talent, creativity, and heart that only human artists can bring. All of our music and art is made by real people, and that will never change. Q: Will there still be the web music browser in-game? A: Yes, the web music browser might have a different landing page, but you’ll still be able to use it to listen to anything you want. Q: Will my Streams/VODs from before the 25th be affected? A: All previous music will stay stream-safe, so you can keep using it on your streams without any copyright issues. (Updated Aug 11th) Q: Will the new music arriving August 25th be a permanent addition to the game? A: Yes! The new soundtrack will be a permanent part of the game for everyone to enjoy, always."
Kevin Karhan :verified:
@kkarhan@infosec.space

@Starcross@mk.absturztau.be I too think this is bad.
I understand if they can't sell new copies of the same tracks with expiring licenses but they could've solved that by having the old one as a (then delisted) DLC and the new one as a new bundle & DLC.

Retroactively changing the contents should be illegal IMHO!

Princess Serena Star ✨✨
@Starcross@mk.absturztau.be

The only way I know to preserve the game in its current state, with Homework Radio, is to pirate the game. Is buying a game isn't owning it, then piracy isn't stealing it.