Kumo's development halt might have something to do with a dispute from Rime's developers

Yesterday we were trying to figure out exactly why Kumo's development was being shelved for an indefinite amount of time. The developer said a "major issue" cropped up among other circumstances. Since Kumo was a Kickstarter-funded project, many are looking to get full details on what's going on. We've reached out the developer for comment, but while we wait, here's what's been discovered.

Things start to make more sense with a tweet from the developer that was deleted shortly after it was sent out.

So due to some trees, Kumo's development has halted and may end up having to fight some legal actions over @TequilaWorks claiming that I have stolen assets from their game @RiMEGame. After nearly 3 years of development and 10 years in the industry I have NEVER been so insulted!

A legal dispute and accusations of stealing content over in-game trees? Let's take a look at how similar the designs are. The first image below is from Kumo, followed by an image from Rime.

Are the trees similar? They are, but I think it's pretty clear they aren't the same. Apparently Tequilla Works feels they're too similar, so much so that they feel their design has been infringed upon.

Those who feel the trees are different also bring up another point. Kumo is no doubt inspired by Rime, but Rime was definitely drawing from games like Ico. If Tequilla Works thinks the trees are a little too close for comfort, that's one thing. If they think the tree design was flat-out stolen, that's another thing altogether. We'll need to hear from both sides on this matter before we can make a final decision.