In 2007, Bethesda Studios purchased the rights to Fallout from financially struggling developer, Interplay, whose money-woes still haven’t ceased. Whilst Fallout 3 was in development, Bethesda opted to license out a Fallout MMORPG deal back in Interplay’s direction. However, Bethesda now want the license to the game back and Interplay is screaming about several breached conditions in the contract in what has turned out to be one of gaming’s worst legal battles.
Bethesda Studios reports that Interplay is violating a clause in the Fallout MMORPG contract which indicates that Interplay had to meet a certain funding commitment, and had failed to do so (with an astound $2.54 million in debt, and only a $16,000 cash asset budget) - this meant that Interplay fell $30 million short of their contractual obligation. They also submitted a claim that Interplay violated the entire “Selling the Fallout IP” idea, since Interplay released a pack of Fallout 1, 2 and Fallout: Tactics called the “Fallout Trilogy”. Bethesda argued that the name was deceptive and made consumers think that Fallout 3 would be in the “Trilogy”, and was using the fame of Bethesda’s game to sell an Interplay product.
Interplay then filed a countersuit, accusing Bethesda of numerous breaches of contract, including breaking conditions of the Trademark Licensing Agreement and Asset Purchasing Agreement during the original deal. They demand to retain limited licensing rights for Fallout - which include the MMORPG and a planned paper-based RPG. They also want, alternatively, for the entire Fallout license to be returned to them, which pretty much redefines the term “a long shot”.
So as the epic battle continues to unfold, the newly-released concept art is Interplay’s way of saying “We’re working on this game, you can’t take it away or make us stop.” In essence, they’re flipping Bethesda Studios off.
What do you think of the two concept screenshots? Who do you support in this legal fight? And lastly, who would you want to be developing the Fallout MMORPG?
