When it comes to skins and cases for electronic devices, I would say that few companies (if any) make products as unique and cool as those from Dbrand. Even more than for his daring and provocative tone on social networks, brand is widely known for its premium cabinets that often sport standout, eye-catching designs.
One of them is (or was; (more on that below) your Portal Companion Cube case for Valve’s newly released steam engine that makes the compact gaming PC look exactly like the beloved Weighted Companion Cube from the publisher’s legendary puzzle game series. The $99 cabinet quickly went viral and launched to great acclaim last week… but ultimately, I’m sorry to report that the success was very short-lived.
On Monday, shortly after fans noticed that the Companion Cube case had recently been removed from all Dbrand channels and platforms, the brand announced that the mask has been canceled after a deletion request Valve. He explained that he did not acquire a license from Valve to create and sell a Portal-themed product, which led to the cease and desist.
“The hard story is that we made the Companion Cube without a license from Valve. Everyone who purchased a Companion Cube will receive their refund at the end of the day,” Dbrand wrote in his statement.
“On November 12, 2025, the day the Steam Machine was announced, we posted a concept render and signup page to see if anyone would be interested in a Companion Cube enclosure. It went moderately viral, with over fifteen thousand people signing up to be notified on the first day,” he continued. “In the months that followed, we turned the idea into something real without even asking Valve if we could. We’re going to regret that decision for a long time.”
Dbrand went on to say that he put seven months of hard work into the project and was extremely proud of how the case turned out, but he also acknowledged that all the time and effort still did not give him the right to create the venue without a license or permit.
“Unfortunately, being proud of what we did didn’t give us the right to do it. We launched it around 3 a.m. on Monday, June 22. Overnight, it became the second best-selling product in our 15-year history, behind only the Switch 2 Killswitch,” he said.
“Shortly after, Valve’s legal team reached out. They stated that Companion Cube is Valve’s intellectual property, for which dbrand has no license,” the brand added. “They requested that we remove the product and release the film immediately. This was entirely within their rights and they were direct, fair and respectful at all times.”
Dbrand attempted to see if Valve would be willing to license the case, but ultimately said no, leading to the project’s cancellation. He noted that “given our reverse approach of building first and asking for permission later, it was a fair response.”
“To everyone who was as excited about this project as we were: thank you and I’m sorry. Refunds will be issued today. If it hasn’t arrived in your account by the end of this week, you know how to contact us,” the company concluded. “To Valve: thanks for Portal and sorry for the headache. We should have asked first.”
It’s true that Valve ultimately didn’t do anything wrong here, but anyway: I’m really sad that the sale of this Steam Machine case has stopped, as it’s incredibly cool and certainly one of the sweetest ones we’ll ever see for the system.
Would you like Valve to change its mind and work with Dbrand to license a Portal Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine after all? Let me know in the comments and in our survey.
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