Game Developer And Publisher Battle Over Step In Rights

The High Court (in Secret Mode Ltd and another v Victura, Inc) has declined competing applications for interim relief by the developer and publisher to obtain what the Judge described as the "keys to the kingdom" in an ongoing dispute relating to the development of the first-person shooter Six Days in Fallujah. The applications concerned attempts by both parties to gain control of the continuing development and publishing of the game pending trial.

It is an interesting case about an allegedly failed milestone, which is a common area of dispute during the video game development process. However, a court case such as this is fairly unusual, because milestone disputes are typically resolved pre-action (e.g. by resubmitting the relevant deliverable and/or through negotiation between the parties), and are not often litigated.