The development of Cloud Imperium’s Star Citizen has been going on for some time, garnering millions of dollars for its development and promising to be a game experience unlike any other. But not everyone is happy about the forthcoming project – just ask Crytek.
The creator of the Crysis series, amongst other projects, has filed a lawsuit against Cloud Imperium, noting that the studio failed to keep its promises with the CryEngine technology that Star Citizen is using.
The complaint, according to PC Gamer, was filed earlier in the week. Crytek initially agreed to a below-market rate for Cloud Imperium to use its tech with the agreement that its logo would be used within the game. The lawsuit notes that the logo was a “critical component” to the game. Crytek also notes that the studio’s founder, Chris Roberts, “publicly sought to minimize Crytek’s contribution to Star Citizen.”
Cloud Imperium has since switched technology over to Amazon’s Lumberyard, but the troubles remain. In fact, Crytek noted that the studio was required to send the company a list of bug fixes and optimizations to the CryEngine source code, which it reportedly failed to do. It tried to reach out for a “long overdue” list to get these bugs, but never recieved them.
Crytek is seeking around $75,000 in direct damages, along with “indirect damages, consequential damages (including lost profits), special damages, cost, fees and expenses incurred by reason of Defendants’ breach of contract and copyright infringement.” The company is also seeking a permanent injunction against Cloud Imperium that would prevent it from using any of Crytek’s work.
Cloud Imperium noted that the lawsuit was “meritless,” and that it was prepared to fight “vigorously” to prove as such – though with the millions that it’s garnered, it may just be easier to settle, rather than draw everything out and create additional damage.
The game’s development is still ongoing for PC, with no immediately expected release date, but with its $173.5 million budget, you’d think that we would be seeing some kind of progress. We’ll let you know if it makes any significant moves over the next few months.