Canadian accessories company dbrand has officially canceled its Companion Cube Steam Machine case just days after launch. Despite becoming one of the company's fastest-selling products, the accessory was pulled after Valve intervened over the use of its Portal intellectual property.

The accessory maker confirmed that it never secured a license before developing and selling the product. This prompted Valve's legal team to request its immediate removal.

In a statement posted on Reddit, dbrand admitted it spent seven months developing the Portal-inspired enclosure without first asking Valve for permission.

The company said the project began as a concept on November 12, 2025. It was the day Valve announced the Steam Machine and attracted more than 15,000 sign-ups within its first day. Here's what dbrand stated: "We’re going to regret that decision for a very long time."

The company invested over 1,000 engineering hours, created 44 injection molding tools, redesigned the enclosure multiple times, and even rented a university campus to film its launch trailer. However, it acknowledged that none of that gave it the legal right to use Valve's intellectual property.

The $99 Companion Cube case launched on June 22. It quickly became dbrand's second-fastest-selling product in its 15-year history, trailing only the Switch 2 Killswitch. However, its success was short-lived.

According to the statement, Valve's legal team contacted dbrand shortly after launch. The team stated that the Companion Cube is Valve's intellectual property and that dbrand did not hold a license to sell products based on it.

Valve requested that the company remove both the product listing and its promotional video immediately. dbrand complied, removing the accessory from its website and social media channels and beginning to issue full refunds to all customers.

Valve rejected dbrand's attempt to save the project with an official license

The Companion Cube case generated strong demand immediately after launch. But Valve chose not to revive the project through an official licensing agreement.

dbrand also appealed to Valve, asking whether the project could continue as an officially licensed product under Valve's terms. Valve declined the request. dbrand accepted the decision, calling it "a fair answer" given its decision to "build first and ask permission later."

Ending its statement, dbrand emphasized that Valve "didn't do anything wrong here." It also apologized to both customers and Valve, adding, "We should've asked first."

The company acknowledged that Valve was "entirely within their rights" to protect the Portal franchise. It described its interactions with Valve's legal team as "direct, fair, and respectful throughout."

The episode marks another high-profile intellectual property dispute for the accessory maker. But unlike previous legal disagreements, dbrand openly accepted responsibility.

Are you Team dbrand or Team Valve in this dispute? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by

Nilendu Brahma

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav