Duckstation (popular PS1 emulator) developer changes its license to one that forbids commercial use and derivative works

Apparently this might have happened because :

A company that commercially makes arcade cabinets (Arcade 1up) took Duckstation, made tons of improvements to it for a Simpsons game, then refused to release the source code as is required by GPL until they were pressured to on social media, and ultimately only released snippets of the code that don't actually build.

Think that left a sour taste in their mouth and they're going a bit overboard with the response.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Arcade1Up/comments/10osxo0/john_d_states_arcade1up_is_not_in_violation_of/j6hbyba/?context=8

https://old.reddit.com/r/Arcade1Up/comments/109m5g2/simpsons_bowling_runs_under_duckstation/

https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/10eay2g/arcade_1up_simpsons_unit_in_violation_of_the_gpl/

https://github.com/Arcade1Up/duckstation-sb

more details

Could it be that someone is trying to use the source for building a commercial product?

They already did. This particular Stenzek meltdown stems from Arcade1Up using a modified version of DuckStation in their Simpsons Bowling arcade machine. They modified it themselves to get the game running properly, didn't contribute any of that work back to the main project, and initially also didn't make their modified source code available either (though eventually did after some pressure). Stenzek went on a rant on Groomercord about how he's tired of people making money from his work and decided to do this. It's hard to actually say he's wrong in this case, as Arcade1Up has a long history of using people's work without permission and refusing to release their source code, despite being in violation of the license they agreed to.

The thing about open source licensing is that it's pretty much enforced on the honor system at this level, since very few people actually have the resources to go to court over it - especially when you're talking individuals versus a company. That said, Stenzek doing this is also almost certainly in violation of the previous license. He is and always has been a hothead prone to dramatic moves and burning bridges, despite being a hugely talented developer.

I guess the dev also had drama with over a fork for retroarch at some point too: https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/siaegs/libretro_regarding_duckstationswanstation/ https://web.archive.org/web/20221018151339/https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sruqo3

and also some drama over his own mobile fork of PCSX2

https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/103836y/aethersx2_stops_development_due_to_harassment_dev/

https://old.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/11q6ddl/aethersx2_new_developer/

further discussions:

https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1ffmjux/duckstation_developer_changes_project_license/

https://old.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1ffmlrk/playstation_1_emulator_duckstation_developer/

https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1ffml57/playstation_1_emulator_duckstation_developer/

https://old.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/1ffscdp/playstation_1_emulator_duckstation_developer/

https://desuarchive.org/g/thread/102366341