The DMCA Crackdown
How Wemade Connect issued DMCA notices across the entire private server community.
Giant Flyff - The First Strike (February 6, 2026)
On February 6, 2026, Giant Flyff announced on Discord that they received a DMCA email from Wemade Connect and were forced to shut down the server and cease all services immediately. Initially, the entire private server scene questioned whether it was legitimate.
Giant Flyff posted their shutdown notice on Discord, which served as a warning to other private server owners. It was quickly confirmed: the DMCA was real.
Countermeasures - In Vain
This incident triggered alarm bells for private server owners and developers. Quick countermeasures were taken: removing Flyff assets from websites, removing "Flyff" from logos and website elements. Servers hoped to avoid receiving their own DMCA notices.
Unfortunately, this was in vain. As visible in the DMCA email, Wemade explicitly stated they were aware of these countermeasures and that they would not help. They also stated they had already gathered and researched all important data.
Mass DMCA - February 13, 2026
The exact same email was sent to approximately 90% of all private servers - a DMCA against the entire private server scene.
This means Wemade had been collecting information long beforehand - likely through payment providers, Gala developers present in the private Discord group, and general preparations spanning 1-2 years. This is supported by the fact that emails were also sent to people whose servers had been offline for 1–2 years. Emails were sent to owners who were no longer owners. This proves the action was planned long in advance.
While all of this was being prepared, Gala developers never warned anyone. They remained in the private Discord server as if nothing was happening - some of them even doing freelance work for private servers during this time. In fact, freelancing between Gala/Universe developers and private servers is still happening to this day - some Gala devs continue to do freelance work for private servers even now. The trust was never broken openly; it was quietly exploited.
Initially, it was assumed Giant Flyff might be an isolated case due to their extensive advertising. However, given numerous signs that Gala/Wemade had planned this for a long time (including unconfirmed leaks), many servers had already taken countermeasures after Giant's DMCA.
The PDF Sent to Hosting Providers
The following document (pages screenshotted) was sent to hosting providers and Cloudflare for some servers. It explicitly mentions financial damage but does not request user data - which is suspicious. It also references FWC (Flyff World Championship), suggesting they wanted some servers down before that event.
Current Situation
While around 10 years ago these servers could actually be called "Flyff Private Servers," today the landscape has changed drastically. Some servers appear to be almost completely different games - with custom assets, worlds, and names - while others stay closer to a classic Flyff experience. But all of them are unique in their own way, shaped by years of independent development. The overlap with the original Flyff IP varies greatly, which makes the blanket legal basis of these DMCAs even more questionable (while keeping in mind that Gala/Universe employees literally helped creating those private servers).
Servers hosted in Russia and certain other countries are very likely untouchable by these DMCA notices, as local laws either do not recognize or do not enforce foreign copyright claims of this nature. Additionally, there exist various DMCA-friendly hosting providers that ignore such takedown requests entirely - and some servers, both existing and future ones, are already taking advantage of this.
In other words: the DMCA wave may cause disruption, but it is unlikely to achieve its goal of shutting down the private server scene entirely. Servers will adapt, relocate, and continue - as they always have.
Gala and Wemade hope to increase their revenue through these actions, but there is a reason - and always has been - why not everyone plays on official servers. Whether it's the heavy pay-to-win monetization, the excessive grind, unresolved bugs, exploits, and dupes (particularly on Flyff PC), or simply a lack of trust in the company behind it - players have their own reasons for choosing alternatives. Shutting down private servers won't change that.
Private servers are standing together. Despite being competitors, they are advising each other, sharing information, and helping wherever possible. Perhaps the only positive outcome of this entire situation.