Terms of Service

Operator: Mederu OÜ (Estonia)
Services covered: KITAMAE: Empire of Sails, and BOREAL
Effective date: 2026-06-30
Version: 2026-06-30

These Terms are published in English. Any translation, including automatic browser translation, is provided for convenience only; the English text is authoritative and prevails in case of any discrepancy.

1. Introduction and Acceptance

1.1 These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the maritime trading simulation “KITAMAE: Empire of Sails” (“KITAMAE” or the “Game”) and the BOREAL editorial and observatory website (“BOREAL”), together with all related features, content, and services (collectively, the “Services”).

1.2 The Services are operated by Mederu OÜ, a private limited company incorporated in Estonia (registry code: 16964705, registered address: Ahtri tn 12, Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia) (“Mederu”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).

1.3 By accessing or using the Services, by applying to participate, or by registering an account, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Services.

1.4 These Terms apply to both KITAMAE and BOREAL. Where a provision applies only to one of them, this is stated expressly.

2. Eligibility and Age

2.1 You must be at least 16 years old to use the Services or to apply to participate. By using the Services you confirm that you meet this age requirement.

2.2 Where a higher minimum age applies under the law of your country of residence, that higher age applies to you.

2.3 The Services are not directed to children below the applicable minimum age, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them.

3. Invitation-Only Access (KITAMAE)

3.1 KITAMAE is provided as an invitation-only closed beta. Access is limited to email addresses that we have placed on our invitation list.

3.2 To play KITAMAE you must sign in with a Google account corresponding to an invited email address. We do not operate a separate username-and-password login. An email address that is not associated with a usable Google account cannot be used to sign in.

3.3 Invitations are personal to the invited individual. You may not transfer, sell, share, or otherwise make your invitation available to any other person.

3.4 We may grant, decline, suspend, or revoke access at our discretion, including where these Terms are breached.

4. Beta Nature of the Services

4.1 The Services are provided in a pre-release, beta stage and are offered on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

4.2 We may modify, suspend, reset, or discontinue all or part of the Services — including game data, game state, and in-game assets — at any time and without prior notice.

4.3 At the end of the beta period, data associated with the beta (including the invitation list) may be deleted, as described in our Privacy Policy.

4.4 We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, freedom from errors, or preservation of any data or progress during the beta.

5. Accounts and Your Responsibilities

5.1 Your KITAMAE account is created through Google sign-in and is linked to your Google account. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Google account.

5.2 You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms.

5.3 You must not:

(a) attempt to circumvent the invitation system or gain unauthorized access to the Services or to any account, server, or system;

(b) reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Services, except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by applicable law;

(c) use automated means (bots, scrapers) to access the Services in a manner that disrupts or unfairly affects other users or our infrastructure;

(d) interfere with, overload, or impair the operation of the Services;

(e) exploit bugs or vulnerabilities for unfair advantage instead of reporting them; or

(f) use the Services to infringe the rights of others or to transmit unlawful, harmful, or abusive content.

6. In-Game Assets and Virtual Items

6.1 KITAMAE may include virtual items, in-game currency, ranks, ships, cargo, and other in-game assets (collectively, “In-Game Assets”).

6.2 In-Game Assets have no monetary value in the real world. They are a licensed feature of the Game and not your property.

6.3 In-Game Assets are not redeemable for cash, are not transferable to other users outside mechanisms we expressly provide within the Game, and cannot be withdrawn or exchanged for real-world currency or financial assets.

6.4 We may adjust, reset, or remove In-Game Assets as part of operating, balancing, or ending the Services, including during the beta.

7. Paid Features and Purchases

Note: Paid features may not all be available at the time these Terms first take effect. This Section governs them once offered.

7.1 We may offer paid features and services within KITAMAE (collectively, “Paid Features”).

7.2 Seller. Paid Features are sold to you by Mederu OÜ.

7.3 Payment processor. Payments are processed by Stripe. By making a purchase, you also agree to Stripe’s applicable terms. We do not receive or store your full payment card details.

7.4 Prices and taxes. Prices are displayed in the stated currency. Where Mederu OÜ is registered for value-added tax (VAT) and required to charge it, prices are shown inclusive of applicable VAT, which is determined based on your place of residence and collected and remitted by Mederu OÜ. Tax is calculated automatically at checkout by our payment processor based on your location.

7.5 Right of withdrawal and its waiver (EU consumers). If you are a consumer in the EU, you normally have a 14-day right to withdraw from a purchase. However, where a purchase is for digital content or a digital service that is supplied immediately:

(a) you expressly request and consent to immediate performance before the end of the 14-day withdrawal period; and

(b) you acknowledge that, by doing so, you lose your right of withdrawal once performance has begun.

You provide this consent and acknowledgement at the point of purchase. Where this consent is given and performance has begun, the purchase is non-refundable except as set out in Section 7.6.

7.6 Refunds. Because Paid Features are digital and supplied immediately, they are generally non-refundable once delivered. This does not affect any mandatory consumer rights you have under applicable law. We will deal individually and in good faith with issues caused by us, such as service failure or duplicate charges.

7.7 Price and offering changes. We may change prices, introduce new Paid Features, or withdraw Paid Features. Where a Paid Feature is discontinued or the Services end, we will deal in good faith with any purchase that you have not yet been able to use, in accordance with applicable law.

8. Intellectual Property

8.1 All content, design, software, text, graphics, illustrations, route visualizations, editorial articles (Dispatch), and generated voyage chronicles (LEDGER OF PASSAGES) forming part of the Services are owned by Mederu OÜ or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws.

8.2 We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Services for your own non-commercial use, subject to these Terms.

8.3 You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, modify, or create derivative works from the Services or their content, except as expressly permitted by us or by applicable law.

8.4 Streaming, video, and content creation. Notwithstanding Section 8.3, we permit you to capture and share screenshots, video, and live streams of your own gameplay (for example, “let’s play” videos, streams, reviews, and commentary), including on platforms that allow you to earn revenue from such content (for example, through advertising, channel memberships, or viewer contributions). This permission is subject to the following:

(a) you must not redistribute, resell, or repackage the Game itself, its software, or substantial portions of its non-gameplay content (such as Dispatch articles or LEDGER chronicles);

(b) you must not present your content in a way that suggests it is official or endorsed by us, unless we have agreed to this in writing; and

(c) we may withdraw or limit this permission, generally or for specific content, where it is used unlawfully, abusively, or in a way that harms the Services or other users.

9. User-Submitted Content

9.1 Where the Services allow you to submit content (for example, beta applications or votes), you are responsible for the content you submit and confirm that you have the right to submit it.

9.2 You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use submitted content to the extent necessary to operate and provide the Services.

9.3 We may remove submitted content that violates these Terms or applicable law.

10. Privacy and Data Protection

10.1 Our processing of your personal data is described in our Privacy Policy (maintained separately). The Privacy Policy forms part of your relationship with us and explains, among other things, what personal data we process, on what legal basis, for how long, and how you can exercise your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

10.2 Data is hosted in the European Union. Mederu OÜ acts as the data controller.

11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

11.1 To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Services are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.

11.2 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law. Mandatory consumer rights are not affected.

11.3 Subject to Section 11.2, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or for loss of data, game progress, or In-Game Assets arising from the beta nature of the Services.

12. Suspension and Termination

12.1 You may stop using the Services at any time and may request deletion of your account as described in the Privacy Policy.

12.2 We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Services, in whole or in part, including by suspending or banning your account, if:

(a) you breach these Terms, including the prohibited conduct in Section 5.3;

(b) we reasonably believe you have used cheats, exploits, automation, or other unfair means, or have attempted to circumvent the invitation system or gain unauthorized access;

(d) we are required to do so by law; or

(e) in connection with ending the beta or the Services.

12.3 Where it is reasonable and lawful to do so, we will give you notice of a suspension or termination and the reason for it. We may act immediately and without prior notice where the breach is serious, where there is a risk to other users or our systems, or where the law requires it. Loss of access may result in loss of access to In-Game Assets, which carries no real-world value (Section 6).

12.4 If you believe an account action was taken in error, you may contact us at the address in Section 15 to ask us to review it.

12.5 Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 8, 11, and 14) survive.

13. Changes to These Terms

13.1 We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the version identifier of these Terms.

13.2 Where required by law, we will provide notice of material changes. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

13.3 Consent records for application forms reference the version of these Terms in effect at the time of submission.

14. Governing Law and Disputes

14.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of Estonia, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer-protection rules of your country of residence that apply to you as a consumer.

14.2 If you are a consumer resident in the EU, you may also bring proceedings in the courts of your place of residence where mandatory law so provides.

14.3 Online dispute resolution (EU). The European Commission provides an online dispute resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. We are not obliged to, and do not commit to, use alternative dispute resolution before a consumer dispute body, but you may have the right to use such mechanisms.

15. Contact and Operator Information

Mederu OÜ
Registry code: 16964705
Registered address: Ahtri tn 12, Tallinn, Harju County, Estonia
General contact: contact@kitamae.app
Privacy contact: privacy@kitamae.app