Lawsuit will block Friday the 13th: The Game getting any new content ever, it sounds like
Talk about bad luck.
There won't be - can't be - any new content made for Friday the 13th: The Game because of the messy Hollywood battle over ownership of the franchise.
Last summer Victor Miller, scriptwriter of the the original Friday the 13th film, decided the rights were his and set out to reclaim them, triggering a ongoing legal battle with those who believed otherwise.
The outcome still isn't decided but something has happened to convince Gun Media, publisher of Friday the 13th: The Game, developing new content for the game is "unfeasible now or in the future".
Gun Media's statement read:
"As many in our community may be aware, a legal claim has been made which could affect all future Friday the 13th intellectual property. Although in the past the game has not been subject to any such claim, new content and material going forward will be affected. An initial decision in this case was expected in October 2017, but no decision has yet been issued. The court review of the legal rights is in process, but final resolution may take some time. Until the claim rights can be dismissed or resolved, no new content can be released.
"When we originally learned that the game fell within the crosshairs of this legal dispute, we tried to balance the creation of new content requested by our fans against the maintenance and bug fixing that our community expects and deserves. We attempted to do both within the limits of the legal case.
"We've now been forced to accept that the lawsuit makes future content for the game, including alternate play modes, new playable Jasons and Counselors, and new maps, unfeasible now or in the future. Although the listed content types will be affected, we remain committed to launching dedicated servers on our console platforms and providing the continued maintenance and bug fixing important to supporting our fan base.
"So what does this mean exactly? There will be no additional content added to Friday the 13th: The Game. This includes Uber Jason, The Grendel Map, Jason Kill Packs, Clothing, Emotes and new Counselors."
Friday the 13th: The Game had been a success for Gun Media, shifting 1.8m copies in a handful of months after its May 2017 launch.
Rick Lane wasn't bowled over by Friday the 13th: The Game in his review at launch, but mostly because of teething issues and bugs - things he said could easily be ironed out in the months to come.