Mother 4, the long-awaited fan-made sequel to Mother 3, will be rebranding after several high profile DMCA takedowns of other fan games.
The Mother 4 team said in an announcement made yesterday on Reddit that while they have not been hit with a takedown request, they do see rebranding as a preventative measure after seeing the takedowns of other fan projects, like Pokémon Uranium, No Mario’s Sky and AM2R. They also see the rebranding as more “an acknowledgement of what we’ve actually been making - and what we’ve been making is a celebration of the games that meant a lot to us growing up, something familiar but also different.”
The team assures fans that they’re not starting over. However, they will be removing elements of the game that ties it directly to the Mother franchise. “Mr. Saturn? Bon voyage, amigo,” they wrote. “The title will also be changing.”
Mother 4 has been in development since 2010. While fans have clamored for an official sequel to Mother 3, series creator Shigesato Itoi has said more than once that making it would be “impossible.”
While the game is not slated to come out any time soon, there’s some good news in the announcement. The team says that they’re not “sell outs” and that “this game is and always will be free.”