Slay the Spire merchandise: Kotaku reports MegaCrit was not involved
In brief
- Kotaku says a Slay the Spire merch store appeared official, but developer MegaCrit had no involvement.
A fan posted on the Slay the Spire subreddit that they had bought shirts and were disappointed by a white border around each graphic on the prints.
According to Kotaku, MegaCrit, the developer of Slay the Spire, had no involvement with the merchandise site in question.
What happened
Kotaku described how a search for “Slay the Spire official merch” surfaced multiple T-shirts, with a site focused entirely on Slay the Spire merchandise appearing near the top. In the article, the site seemed to present itself as an official clothing source, but Kotaku said MegaCrit was not involved. The key point of the piece is therefore not just that Slay the Spire clothing was being sold, but that the site’s presentation gave the impression it was an official or approved store.
The article was prompted by a post from a fan on the Slay the Spire subreddit. That user said they had bought shirts from the site and were disappointed by a white border around each image, which Kotaku said raised questions about print quality. That detail matters because the article is not only about search visibility, but also about the physical quality of the products that were delivered.
Kotaku also suggested that generative AI may have played a role in how quickly the site and its designs were put together, though that remains an interpretation rather than a confirmed fact in the available information. The publication uses that possibility mainly to illustrate how quickly an apparently complete merchandise store can be assembled. The core of the story is that video game apparel is often widely available, while buyers may struggle to tell what is official, licensed, or simply imitative.
The article also places the issue in a broader context of online merchandise search results. According to Kotaku, a store centered on one game can look convincing in search engines even when the developer’s involvement is unconfirmed. In this case, Kotaku explicitly names MegaCrit as a party that had no involvement with the site that appeared in the search results.
Timeline
16 September 2026: Kotaku publishes an article about the difficulty of buying legitimate video game T-shirts, using Slay the Spire merchandise as an example.
Unknown date: A fan posts on the Slay the Spire subreddit that shirts they bought have a white border around the graphics.
Unknown date: Kotaku reports that MegaCrit had no involvement with the merchandise site in question.
Unknown date: Kotaku describes a search for “Slay the Spire official merch” surfacing multiple shirts and a site near the top of the results.
Unknown date: Kotaku mentions generative AI as a possible explanation for the quick setup of the site and designs, but without confirmation from the owner.
Background
Kotaku’s article places Slay the Spire alongside other video game brands for which fans look for shirts and other apparel, with names like Fangamer, The Yetee, and Nintendo in the wider merchandise context. That comparison matters because it shows there is already an established market for licensed game clothing, but that market is also surrounded by sellers using the same search terms without clear licensing status.
Based on the available information, it has not been established who exactly owns or operates the Slay the Spire merchandise site. It is also unclear whether the designs were actually made with generative AI, or whether that was mainly a suspicion based on how the site looked and functioned. Kotaku presents that point as a possibility within a broader story about how quickly web shops can be launched and how hard it can be for buyers to verify a product’s origin.
The central question in the piece is whether a seller is actually approved by the creator or a licensing partner. Kotaku explicitly names MegaCrit as a party that had no involvement with the site that appeared in search results. That leaves the most solid conclusion limited to MegaCrit’s absence, not to a full identification of the seller or a legal judgment on the merchandise.
The article also emphasizes that a store’s visibility in search results is not the same as official status. A site can focus on a specific game, use product images and branding that feel familiar, and still fall outside the developer’s or a license partner’s orbit. In this case, that distinction between presentation and actual involvement is the heart of the reporting.
Sources
- Kotaku: "Why Does Trying To Buy A Video Game T-Shirt Suck So Much?"