Square Enix announced Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy at E3 2021, and there are a number of things that set it apart from the publisher's previous venture into the Marvel Comics universe. Whereas Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers is a live-service title with a story mode highlighting a number of its playable characters, Eidos Montreal's Guardians of the Galaxy is a single-player only romp through Marvel's deep space as Star-Lord leads an AI-controlled team. The upcoming title also advertises an "All-Star '80s Soundtrack," fitting with Star-Lord's character as popularized by Chris Pratt's portrayal of Peter Quill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Included on this soundtrack are Iron Maiden, KISS, Rick Astley, and more, according to the game's official listing on the Square Enix website. As exciting as this may be for some music buffs, it likely worried a lot of online content creators who foresaw their videos or livestreams being taken down due to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) strikes if they tried playing Guardians of the Galaxy. Luckily senior narrative director Mary DeMarle announced a DMCA-free streamer mode for Guardians is available, which is a big deal in light of recent surges of content takedowns and could become an industry standard if handled appropriately.

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Twitch streamers faced an "unprecedented" amount of DMCA takedowns starting in late 2020, which resulted in some peoples' clip and VOD catalogues being entirely wiped out due to the presence of music claimed by record labels. The situation became extreme enough that Twitch released a lengthy statement advising its creators on how to avoid said strikes while saying their frustration and confusion was "completely justified." Even CEO Emmett Shear directly apologized for the controversy. This is not just a Twitch issue, as YouTubers and other content creators express frustration with copyright claims too, but the streaming site debacle brought it to a head last year.

Fair use is a hot topic with regards to DMCA takedowns, as copyright holders consistently question what counts. Generally speaking, something is judged to be fair use or not based on four criteria: The purpose of the use, the amount and substantiality of the work used, the nature of the copyrighted work, and whether using that work impacts its creator's market for income.

Title 2 in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 outlines some specific limitations on liability, such as use by nonprofit educational institutions and fair use barring any monetary damages to the copyright holder. It also states copyright owners must demonstrate the "provider" has infringed upon its properties, and many of them have not been shy to do so given cases like Metallica being censored on Twitch for playing at BlizzCon 2021.

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In an Internet landscape where many content creators use YouTube and other such sites to make a living, the fear of any video being taken down or demonetized regardless of whether they feel it constitutes "fair use" is palpable. With those concerns intensifying in 2020, it's admirable for Eidos Montreal to add an option for DMCA-free soundtracks in Guardians of the Galaxy. Not only is this a gesture of good will toward fans, it's a smart business decision because it allows the game to spread more naturally within online communities. More exposure on Twitch, YouTube, and so on is free advertising for Square and Eidos.

As of this writing, it's hard to say whether that option will compromise the play experience in unexpected ways. Movies have a long history of acquiring the rights to use specific songs that enhance their storytelling, and MCU movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy are especially prone to incorporating songs into narrative beats. If Eidos Montreal uses reasonable facsimiles of its 80s hits that match the atmosphere, this should work out in its favor. Otherwise, streamers may be stuck with an inferior experience, which could defeat the purpose of this gesture in the first place.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is scheduled to release on October 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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