Fallout MMO Battle Continues: Bethesda Vs. Interplay

The battle over Fallout Online, the Fallout MMO, has gone on for over two years. It began when Bethesda, the developer of Fallout 3, filed suit against Interplay, the developers of the original Fallout.

The claim cited Interplay had violated an agreement met by both developers in 2007. The issue is that Interplay's Fallout Online MMO will use properties, characters, and settings from Bethesda's Fallout games. Bethesda says they never consented to their creations being used. The plot thickens as papers filed by Interplay this past week claim Bethesda knew about Interplay's plan for their MMO long before a suit was filed.

"For at least four years, Bethesda has known that Interplay interpreted its right to create the Fallout-branded MMOG to include copyrighted content from the 'Fallout' universe in order to make the MMOG a recognizable 'Fallout' game. Bethesda never objected and did not seek an injunction because it knew Interplay was doing exactly what the parties intended under their agreements."

This statement goes against what Bethesda has claimed, citing they only allowed the use of the name Fallout. I don't know how they could possibly think Interplay would make a Fallout game in name only and use none of the series' iconic post-apocalyptic aspects.

The sad thing here is, no matter who wins, gamers lose. The Fallout MMO may never see the light of day.

Source: Gamasutra