Fri, Nov 09, 2012 | 09:49 GMT
Silicon Knights ordered to destroy unsold copies of all Unreal Engine games
Earlier this year Silicon Knights lost a legal battle with Epic Games over a breach of its Unreal Engine license agreement, and the disclosure of Epic’s trade secrets. A newly-discovered document from the case shows that the ruling has forced Silicon Knights to recall and destroy every unsold copy of Too Human, X-Men: Destiny and other games made in Unreal, entirely the developer’s expense. Get the details below.
Eurogamer reports that a legal document has surfaced online that discloses the terms of the legal battle between Silicon Knights and Epic Games. The case took place in May and resulted in Silicon Knights owing Epic $4.45 million in damages following its Unreal Engine agreement breach.
The document was unearthed by NeoGaf user Xenon. Page 41 pertains to the recall of all Unreal Engine games created by Silicon Knights:
The page above states that Silicon Knights must erase all of the code and recall and destroy copies of the following games:
- Too Human
- X-Men: Destiny
- The Sandman
- The Box/Ritualyst
- Siren in the Maelstrom
The ruling has given Silicon Knights until December 10th 2012 to do so. Quite how it will manage to recall every unsold copy of each game by then remains unclear. Eurogamer adds that the dispute between Silicon Knights and Epic started in 2007 after the studio accused Epic of withholding money from Unreal Engine development and was pumping it into funding the Gears of War franchise instead.
Recently it was suggested that Silicon Knights was operating on a skeleton crew. Check out our coverage here:
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Posted in: PS3, Xbox 360
Tags: Dennis Dyack, silicon knights, Too Human X-Men: Destiny
21 comments
#1
Clupula
09/11/12, 9:53 am
I know what the article means, but the headline is written in a way that it makes it seem like they’ve been ordered to destroy every game from every developer that uses Unreal.
#2
Anders
09/11/12, 9:58 am
Wow, that’s brutal. Cue image of Denis Dyack with a sledgehammer.
#3
Dave Cook
09/11/12, 10:01 am
@1 that’s just daft though
#4
G1GAHURTZ
09/11/12, 10:05 am
It’s their own fault.
#5
Parzival
09/11/12, 10:22 am
Rise from the ashes. Eternal Darkness 2 needs to happen!
#6
viralshag
09/11/12, 10:22 am
@1, That’s being extremely nit-picky with regards to a headline.
#7
Dave Cook
09/11/12, 10:24 am
#8
Telepathic.Geometry
09/11/12, 10:32 am
Jesus Clupula, don’t you think you’re nit-picking?
By the way Dave: “entirely [AT] the developer’s expense.” ;P
#9
Parzival
09/11/12, 10:37 am
@7 Awesome! xD
#10
The_Red
09/11/12, 10:44 am
I know the horrible shape of company was at least partially Dyack’s fault but did he also start the legal battle with Epic?
Because if he did, someone should award him a medal for most efficient way of destroying your own company.
#11
Gheritt White
09/11/12, 12:40 pm
I’d never even heard of The Sandman, The Box/Ritualyst or Siren in the Maelstrom. Were these even announced?
#12
Mike W
09/11/12, 12:57 pm
Can they throw Dennis Dyack away too?
And thank God, nobody else doesn’t have to witness the trash that was Too Human.
#13
NeoSquall
09/11/12, 1:05 pm
For the well being of the company and the industry at large, I suggest Dyack thrusts himself in the fire with the games, too.
#14
Gheritt White
09/11/12, 1:28 pm
Um… Why is NOBODY making a big deal out of the fact that SK were working on a game about The Sandman?
#15
Mike W
09/11/12, 1:34 pm
@14
Did you think this “Sandman” game was going to be any good in the hands of Dennis?
It only took Dennis Dickflake 14 yrs to make a piece of shit game….I think it’s a good thing this game is going down the drain.
#16
SplatteredHouse
09/11/12, 2:31 pm
Poor SK.
They’re so far away from any desert!
#17
The_Red
09/11/12, 2:36 pm
@14
I thought it was a game about dreams and general Sandman, the Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Either way, it wouldn’t have mattered. If it was the general one, it wouldn’t have mattered to NG fans. If it WAS the NG one, it wouldn’t have mattered either because the end result would be another X-Men Destiny. A beloved license destroyed because Dyack wanted to spend all the money on Eternal Darkness 2 pitch demos.
#18
Gheritt White
09/11/12, 2:43 pm
Three potentially interesting unannounced titles have leaked and *nobody’s* reporting it – what gives?
Obvs they’ll never get made, but I’d be interested to see what they were about.
#19
Ireland Michael
09/11/12, 2:50 pm
@14 It’s quite possible it had absolutely nothing to do with Gaiman’s work.
Nobody is reporting it because there’s basically nothing to report. We know nothing about the games, what they involve, and due to Silicon Knight’s non-existent output for the last few years, it’s possible they never even left the concept and planning stage.
I have a lot of respect for some of SK’s work, and that stand up regardless of how people feel about Dyack. He may have been confrontational, but sometimes he was also right.
Not going to wish hardship on a man I don’t know. Hope the people involved in the company can find safe employment and security.
#20
Gheritt White
09/11/12, 3:19 pm
@ 19: Um… I’d like to see a non-DC related entertainment product called “The Sandman” trying to hit the market and not get sued into oblivion.
#21
Clupula
09/11/12, 8:36 pm
@3 – Of course it is. That’s why it’s funny.