Accessory maker Dbrand has pulled its Steam Machine Companion Cube from sale after Valve raised intellectual property concerns. The company removed the product from its website and social media following contact from Valve's legal team, who stated the design infringed on their Portal franchise IP. Dbrand complied immediately and is issuing refunds to all purchasers.

The Companion Cube was designed to resemble the iconic Portal weighted storage cube, serving as an enclosure for Valve's Steam Machine console. Development spanned seven months with over a thousand hours of engineering work and 44 sets of injection molding tools. Despite selling for $99, Dbrand was reportedly losing money on each unit but continued due to passion for the project.

The accessory became the company's second-fastest-selling product ever, trailing only the Switch 2 Killswitch, after attracting 15,000 sign-ups on its first day. Fans expressed disappointment but understood Valve's position regarding unverified engineering and thermal specifications.

Dbrand acknowledged its mistake in developing the product before seeking licensing approval, calling it a hard-learned lesson about respecting IP rights. The company redirected its product page to a Reddit post explaining the situation and apologized to both customers and Valve for the oversight.