Star Citizen raised nearly $200 million dollars in Kickstarter funding, and the game’s former engine partners at Crytek are looking for their slice of the pie. In a lawsuit formally filed Tuesday, Crytek alleges that Cloud Imperium Games’ switch to Amazon’s Lumberyard engine and the standalone sale of Squadron 42 breach a previously established Game License Agreement. Potential damages could total at least $75,000.
Star Citizen began in 2012 as a Kickstarter effort and space sim dream largely sold on the back of high-end technology like CryEngine. However, as Crytek faced financial troubles in the years to follow, CIG honorably poached many of the company’s former employees. By 2016, Star Citizen had switched to Amazon’s Lumberyard as its creative base. While legally licensed on a similar version of CryEngine, Lumberyard’s source is significantly altered.
Crytek sees that shift as a breach of contract for a game originally promised to be exclusively developed and marketed with CryEngine. It’s also alleged that CryEngine helped make Star Citizen what it is today, and proof of that can be seen in teasers and promotional materials created in collaboration with the engine designer. Yet, if you look at a recent Star Citizen trailer, the CryEngine logo is nowhere to be found.
And Star Citizen has continued to expand following the partnership with Amazon. A video series, called Bugsmashers, regularly showcases screenshots of CryEngine-based development tools. When collaborating with Faceware for the facial capture sequences debuted during Gamescom this year, CIG also allegedly shared many CryEngine tools without Crytek’s consent. To the outfit issuing the lawsuit, this is a significant example of copyright infringement.
The case’s final charge relates to Star Citizen’s highly anticipated single-player module, Squadron 42. While initially marketed as an offshoot of the main Star Citizen experience, CIG announced in 2015 that the title would be sold as a separate product. When Crytek designed the GLA, however, its license only applied to Star Citizen and no secondary releases. These three pillars of new partnerships, shared code and additional products are the basis for the larger claim.
With legal action still in processing, it’s difficult to know what this lawsuit might mean for Star Citizen’s future. We imagine that not all charges will stick, but, even if a decent reward is offered to Crytek for damages, it could spur some changes to the creative ambitions of this massive multi-game universe.
If there’s any solace Star Citizen backers can take from this news, it’s that the defendants don’t seem too worried. “We are aware of the Crytek complaint having been filed in the U.S. District Court. CIG hasn’t used the CryEngine for quite some time since we switched to Amazon’s Lumberyard. This is a meritless lawsuit that we will defend vigorously against, including recovering from Crytek any costs incurred in this matter,” the studio told Kotaku.
Star Citizen is currently in alpha for Kickstarter backers on PC.
Will this lawsuit negatively impact Star Citizen’s ongoing development? Is Crytek just hungry for cash to fix its money problems? Give us your take in the comments section!
