Epic Games vinder retssag

Epic Games har en række nævneværdige succeser under bæltet, navnlig Gears of War og ikke mindst Unreal Engine 3, men det er imidlertid ikke alt hos Epic Games, der har været omgivet af positiv energi. Tilbage i 2007 blev de såmænd sagsøgt af spiludvikleren, Silicon Knights, som senest er kendt for blandt andet X-Men: Destiny og Too Human.

Silicon Knights sagsøgte Epic Games under påstanden om, at Epic Games leverede en fejlfyldt Unreal Engine 3 til udviklingen af Too Human, og at Epic Games skulle have brugt licensgebyrerne til at skabe og finpudse sin egen franchise, Gears of War, og ikke til at vedligeholde motoren. Nu har en jury omsider hamret den endelige dom fast: Epic Games vinder retssagen og får nu $4.45 millioner i erstatning. "We are delighted with the jury's verdict and all of the hard work done by the Hunton & Williams legal team." siger en glad Jay Andrews fra Epic Games, nu da det endelig er forbi. Her ønsker vi blot Epic Games tillykke med sejren, og vi håber på at se mere Gears of War!


English version:

Epic Games has had notable success during the last couple of years with their Gears of War and Unreal Engine 3, but it's not everything at Epic Games that has been of a positive nature. The developers at Silicon Knights, most known for X-Men: Destiny and Too Human, actually filed a lawsuit against Epic Games back in 2007.

Silicon Knights claimed that Epic Games delivered a faulty engine when Too Human was being developed, and that Epic Games spent licensee fees to create their own franchise, Gears of War, and not on maintaining their engine. A jury has finally put the hammer down on this matter: Epic Games wins the trial and is awarded with $4.45 million. "We are delighted with the jury's verdict and all of the hard work done by the Hunton & Williams legal team," says a happy Jay Andrews from Epic Games now that it's over. We, here at Game Wardens, give our congratulations to Epic Games, and we hope to see more of Gears of War!

Activision vs. Infinity Ward: Modern Warfare

Ja da, så er den her igen! Den tilbagevendende sag mellem Activision og Infinity Ward er ikke nem at undgå. Især ikke når Activision nu har betalt tidligere ansatte af studiet $42 millioner i erstatning. Du læste rigtigt: $42 millioner. Det er 242 millioner danske kr., hvis du skulle være i tvivl. Det er rigtig mange penge, som bliver fordelt mellem 40 individer for deres arbejde på Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 men tro endelig ikke, at sagen nu omsider er forbi.

"Although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation.", sagde advokaten Bruce Isaac, der repræsenterer Infinity Wards tidligere ansatte, og han fortsætter: "It is outrageous that they made us wait, they obviously knew they owed the money and this just shows that they breached the contract." Samlet set håber de på at kunne få en udbetaling på et sted imellem $75 millioner og $125 millioner, så sagen kører altså endnu.


English version:

Yup, it's this one again. The trial involving Activision and Infinity Ward is definitely not easy to avoid, and especially not when Activision just payed the former staff of Infinity Ward $42 million. That's right: $42 million. That's a lot of money and it will be distributed among 40 individuals for their work on Modern Warfare 2 but do not make the mistake and think this is over.

"Although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation.", said Bruce Isaac, the attorney representing the former staff, and he continues: "It is outrageous that they made us wait, they obviously knew they owed the money and this just shows that they breached the contract." They hope to get a payment between $75 million and $125 million at the end of the trial. So once again: do not think this is over.