Rune II Developer Being Sued by Publisher After Bethesda Acquisition

publisher, Ragnarok Game, LLC, is suing the game’s developer—formerly known as Human Head Studios—for abandoning Rune II after the game’s release.

The allegations amount to a Breach of Contract after Human Head shut down and its employees went to work for Bethesda. According to the legal documents submitted by Ragnarok Game, LLC’s legal team, “the Rune II Agreements expressly provide that Ragnarok exclusively owns all right, title and interest in the content and materials developed by Human Head for Rune II, including deliverables, software (including source and object codes), work product, and the Rune II game (‘Rune II Assets’).”

The legal documents also claim that the employees that worked for the now defunct Human Head Studios have yet to turn over the source and object codes to Ragnarok Game, LLC, and have “continued to alter the source and object codes for Rune II, despite repeated and explicit instructions from Ragnaroks that Defendants immediately cease all such alterations.”

Ragnarok Game, LLC provided six Causes for Action (a set of facts justifying the right to sue to obtain money, property, or the enforcement of a right against another party) when submitting the legal documentation suing the Human Head Studio developers who now work under Bethesda’s umbrella. Those Causes of Action include:

1. “Breach of Contract Against Defendant Human Head.
2. Fraudulent Concealment Against All Defendants (Claims that Human Head did not notify Ragnarok Game that the studio would be shutting down after having been acquired by Bethesda, and that the acquisition was known to Human Head for “several months”)
3. Conversion Against All Defendants (Ragnarok Game, LLC claims to be the sole owner of Rune II and all its Assets and demands former Human Head Studios developers turn over Rune II and all its Assets to Ragnarok Game, LLC)
4. Fraudulent Misrepresentation Against All Defendants (Claims that Human Head Studios agreed to provide ongoing support for the game after its release for at least five years as contracting partners with Ragnarok Game, LLC and that those “representations were not true”)
5. Negligent Misrepresentation Against All Defendants (Similar, but not identical, to number Four above)
6. Unfair Business Practices in Violation of California Business & Professions Code Section 17200 Against All Defendants.”

Gamers interested in a more thorough understanding of the legal actions forthcoming can refer to the legal document provided above.

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