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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Short answer: You can create original level designs, but copyright in the game’s characters, setting, audiovisual assets, music and story may still apply. A saved level that uses those elements can be treated as an unauthorized derivative work, especially when it is distributed or sold. Free sharing, fan status or use of an official editor is not blanket permission. The specific game’s license, upload rules, the level’s contents and how you distribute it determine the risk.
This overview addresses U.S. law. Copyright exceptions and game-platform terms differ in other countries. It is general legal information, not advice about a particular map or game.
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What copyright protects in a game level
Under 17 U.S.C. § 102, copyright protects original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium. “Fixed” means recorded in a form that can be perceived, reproduced or communicated, such as a saved map file, written level description, screenshot, video, audio track or artwork. A level creator can own copyright in genuinely original additions, but that ownership does not automatically include the game material those additions use.
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Copyright does not protect abstract ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles or discoveries. A premise such as “players navigate rooms while avoiding traps” or a general scoring mechanic is not the same as the particular expressive implementation. The exact architecture, visual arrangement, dialogue, artwork, music and other recorded choices may contain protectable expression.
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- PREMIUM EDITION CONTENT — Includes DOOM: The Dark Ages, the Revelations campaign DLC, Digital Artbook and Soundtrack, and the Divinity Skin Pack with matching skins for the DOOM Slayer, dragon, and Atlan.
- BECOME THE SLAYER — Step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer in a cinematic prequel to DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal.
- STAND AND FIGHT — Take on demon hordes with the Super Shotgun, the versatile Shield Saw, and other devastating weapons in grounded combat.
- TOOLS OF WAR — Take flight atop a Mecha Dragon, climb into an Atlan mech, and use the enhanced glory kill system against demons.
- REIGN IN HELL — Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer fights Hell’s forces and confronts their leader in a medieval war.
That distinction is not a simple safe harbor. Recreating a game’s distinctive characters, environments, plot or audiovisual presentation can copy protected expression even when the new author designed every room. A file made with an official editor is still a fixed work, and the editor itself does not decide who owns the underlying assets.
Layered rights can exist in one file
A fan level may contain the creator’s original layout, puzzles and text alongside the publisher’s characters, textures, sounds, models, story setting or code-dependent presentation. Those rights can overlap. The creator may have rights in new material while the publisher retains rights in the pre-existing game material and in derivative uses of it.
What the Ninth Circuit’s Micro Star v. FormGen decision shows
The leading U.S. example is Micro Star v. FormGen Inc., 154 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1998), decided September 11, 1998. FormGen’s Duke Nukem 3D included a Build Editor that players used to make and post levels. Micro Star collected 300 user-created levels, placed them on a CD called Nuke It, and sold the compilation.
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At the preliminary-injunction stage, the Ninth Circuit concluded FormGen was likely to prove infringement. It reversed the denial of an injunction and sent the case back for entry of one. The court focused on two features that matter to fan-level creators:
- Fixation: The levels were permanent, reproducible files rather than a temporary change visible only during an individual play session.
- Use of expressive game elements: The files invoked protected aspects of the game’s story, including its setting and characters.
The opinion also considered the publisher’s potential market for sequels and other derivative works. Judge Alex Kozinski wrote: “A copyright owner has the right to enter that market; whether it chooses to do so is entirely its business.” In context, the sentence addressed the owner’s control over that market; it did not announce that every fan work is prohibited.
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What the case does not decide
Micro Star is a Ninth Circuit decision, not a nationwide rule that every custom map infringes. It involved a commercial compilation, particular files and particular uses of the game’s characters, setting and plot. A different level with different content, distribution and permissions could produce a different result. The court’s ruling was about likely success at a preliminary-injunction stage, not a final verdict declaring all fan-made levels unlawful.
Is it legal to make a custom level?
Making a level privately is generally less legally exposed than publishing or selling it, but “legal” cannot be answered without examining the game’s rights and terms. The key questions are what the level copies, whether it is fixed, how it is shared and what permission exists.
| Scenario | What is happening | Copyright considerations |
|---|---|---|
| General mechanic only | You use an idea or rule but create independent art, text, characters and setting. | Ideas and systems are outside copyright, though other rights or copied expression could still matter. |
| Private, transient alteration | A change exists only while you play and is not saved or distributed. | Less like the fixed public files at issue in Micro Star; the game’s license and other facts still control. |
| Saved map using game assets | A reproducible file uses the game’s characters, environments, music or story. | Original additions may coexist with the publisher’s rights; derivative-work and license questions arise. |
| Free online upload | You post the map on a workshop, forum or file host without charging. | Free distribution is not automatic permission. The platform and game terms, copied content and any takedown are important. |
| Commercial compilation or sale | You sell files, a disc, access or a bundle of levels. | Commercial distribution closely resembles the facts that led to the injunction in Micro Star and carries higher risk without a license. |
Can I share or sell a fan-made level?
Permission is the clearest route
Authorization may come from a publisher’s mod policy, an editor license, a workshop agreement, platform terms or a direct written license. Read the exact scope. Permission to make a level for personal use may not authorize public uploads, paid distribution, inclusion in a compilation, use of game assets in another engine or monetized videos.
Terms can also impose attribution, content, revenue-sharing, territory, age-rating, takedown or revocation conditions. Save a copy of the version you accepted and check for updates before publishing. Because no particular game is identified here, do not assume that one title’s workshop policy applies to another.
Free does not mean authorized
Giving a level away can remove a sales transaction, but it does not erase the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute or prepare derivative works. A free upload can still be challenged if it uses protected expression without permission. Noncommercial purpose may be relevant to a fair-use analysis, but it is only one fact.
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Separate your original assets where possible
A level built with entirely original characters, art, music, text and setting may avoid copying the game’s expressive content, although compatibility with the game’s engine can raise separate contract or technical questions. Do not extract or redistribute proprietary assets merely because the editor makes them accessible. Check whether the license permits exporting, remixing or using assets outside the game.
How fair use applies to fan levels
Fair use is a case-by-case doctrine under U.S. law. The U.S. Copyright Office describes four statutory considerations: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality used and the effect on the potential market. No categorical rule says that a fan level, a free mod or a noncommercial upload is fair use.
Purpose and character
Nonprofit, educational, critical or transformative uses may receive more favorable consideration than a commercial compilation, but a free entertainment level can still be substantially similar to the original game’s normal market. Calling a project a tribute does not determine the result. Selling the files, paid access, advertising or bundling them with a product can weigh against fair use.
Nature of the original work
Games combine highly creative audiovisual and narrative material. Using fictional characters, distinctive environments or story elements generally involves more expressive material than using an unprotectable rule or commonplace idea.
Amount and qualitative importance
There is no safe percentage of a game that may be copied. A small amount can matter if it is a distinctive character, signature setting, recognizable music cue or plot element. Conversely, a larger amount of unprotectable functional material is not automatically infringement. The analysis looks at both quantity and importance.
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- Developed by id Software, DOOM Eternal is the direct sequel to the award-winning and best-selling DOOM (2016).
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Market effect
Courts can consider whether the use substitutes for the original or interferes with markets for authorized expansions, sequels, downloadable content or licensed derivative works. The Ninth Circuit’s market discussion in Micro Star is why commercial fan-level products deserve particular caution.
The Copyright Office cannot decide whether an individual use is fair. A lawyer evaluating a real dispute would need the complete files, terms, audience, distribution method and surrounding facts.
Who owns a level made in a game editor?
Ownership usually requires separating the creator’s authorship from the game’s pre-existing material and the contract terms. Your original room layout, puzzle logic, dialogue or artwork may be copyrightable if sufficiently original and fixed. That does not grant ownership of the game’s characters, textures, music, story or other assets incorporated into the file.
An editor’s end-user license agreement or workshop terms may grant the publisher a broad license to host, display, modify or redistribute user submissions. They may also reserve ownership of submissions, require a license to the platform or restrict commercial use. Without the named game’s current terms, no reliable ownership conclusion can be made. Read the agreement and upload policy that applied when you created and posted the level.
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What happens when a platform receives a copyright complaint?
Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides notice-and-takedown procedures and potential safe harbors for qualifying online service providers, including platforms that host user-directed material. A rights holder can send a compliant notice, and a platform may remove or disable access while following its policy. A counter-notice may be available if you believe the removal was mistaken, but it has legal consequences and should be used carefully.
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- STANDARD EDITION — Includes DOOM: The Dark Ages, a single-player dark fantasy and sci-fi shooter.
- BECOME THE SLAYER — Step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer in a cinematic prequel to DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal.
- STAND AND FIGHT — Take on demon hordes with the Super Shotgun, the versatile Shield Saw, and other devastating weapons in grounded combat.
- TOOLS OF WAR — Take flight atop a Mecha Dragon, climb into an Atlan mech, and use the enhanced glory kill system against demons.
- REIGN IN HELL — Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer fights Hell’s forces and confronts their leader in a medieval war.
Safe-harbor protection concerns the service provider’s liability. It does not give a creator a license to upload copyrighted game material, decide that the level is fair use or guarantee that a file will remain online. Platforms may remove content under their contracts even when infringement has not been finally decided.
A practical checklist before publishing a level
- Identify the jurisdiction. This article uses U.S. law. If you or the audience is elsewhere, obtain advice under the relevant country’s rules.
- Inventory every element. List your own geometry, code, text, art and audio separately from characters, models, textures, music, dialogue, story settings and other game assets.
- Check fixation. Determine whether you are distributing a saved map, package, video, soundtrack or other reproducible file rather than merely describing an idea.
- Read current terms. Review the EULA, editor license, mod policy, workshop agreement and platform upload rules. Confirm whether publication, redistribution, monetization and external asset use are allowed.
- Define distribution. Record whether the level is private, shared with a small group, posted publicly, bundled with other files, monetized or sold. The method and audience affect risk.
- Assess fair-use facts without assuming the answer. Consider purpose, creative material used, amount taken and likely effects on authorized markets.
- Remove unnecessary protected material. Replace copied music, artwork, story text or distinctive characters with original or properly licensed alternatives when the terms permit.
- Keep records. Retain permissions, asset licenses, the applicable terms, creation dates and versions of the files.
- Plan for a complaint. Know the platform’s notice, appeal and counter-notice process. Do not misrepresent facts in a response.
- Get tailored legal advice for commercial or disputed projects. A lawyer can review the actual files and contracts, which a general checklist cannot do.
Common misconceptions
- “I made it, so I own everything in it.” You may own new authorship while the publisher owns pre-existing game expression.
- “It is free, so it is legal.” Noncommercial distribution is not an automatic exception.
- “The editor was provided, so every use is licensed.” Editor access and publication rights are separate questions governed by the terms.
- “A takedown proves infringement.” Removal is a platform process, not a final judicial determination.
- “Micro Star bans all mods.” The Ninth Circuit addressed particular fixed files, expressive game elements and a commercial compilation; it did not decide every fan project.
Bottom line for creators
Designing a level can involve your own copyrightable expression, the game publisher’s protected expression or both. Risk rises when a saved, reproducible level uses recognizable characters, setting, story, artwork or music and is publicly distributed or sold without clear permission. Before uploading, identify what you copied, read the exact game and platform terms, and do not rely on “fan-made,” “free” or “made in an editor” as a substitute for authorization. For a commercial release, a dispute or a project built around substantial game assets, obtain advice on the specific files and license.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does making a fan level in an official editor automatically make it legal?
No. The editor may be licensed for creation, but publication, redistribution and monetization depend on the game’s editor license, EULA and platform terms, as well as the level’s copied content.
Can I sell a level I created for free?
Not without checking permission and infringement risk. A commercial compilation using the game’s characters, setting or story closely resembles the facts that produced a preliminary injunction in the Ninth Circuit’s Micro Star v. FormGen decision.
Does the DMCA protect my upload?
Section 512 can protect qualifying service providers that follow notice-and-takedown rules; it does not grant users permission to upload copyrighted game material.
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