Dbrand cancels Companion Cube Steam Machine after Valve refused license

When Valve unveiled a cube-shaped Steam Machine in November, Dbrand rushed to build a Companion Cube-style hard shell for the console. More than 15,000 people signed up to buy the accessory, which was listed at $129.95, but the company pulled its promotional video and removed the product from its site last week.

Dbrand admitted it never obtained a license from Valve and said refunds for everyone who purchased a Companion Cube would be issued by end of day. The company wrote, "The blunt version is that we made the Companion Cube without a license from Valve," and added that it would regret the decision for a long time.

Company posts detailed the effort behind the product: "More than a thousand hours went into engineering," plus 44 sets of injection-molding tools, multiple redesigns and a rented university campus for the launch video. Dbrand acknowledged that pride in the project did not grant the right to use Valve’s intellectual property and noted it was losing money on related items like the $99 Poverty Cube.

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