More specifically, Silicon Knights alleges that Epic, after accepting licensing fees from various parties for the Unreal Engine 3, deliberately launched their own titles using the provided monies while simultaneously undermining competing titles through delayed delivery of code and failure to provide previously agreed upon support.
The suit states that, "Rather than provide support to Silicon Knights and Epic’s other many licensees of the Engine, Epic intentionally and wrongfully has used the fees from those licenses to launch its own game to widespread commercial success while simultaneously sabotaging efforts by Silicon Knights and others to develop their own video games."
The damage caused by a lack of timely access to Unreal Engine 3 code has apparently now forced Silicon Knights to pursue the use of alternative game engines for Too Human. Specific legal breaches cited are many and include fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract, just to name a few.
In a statement made to Gamasutra, Denis Dyack, President and Founder of Silicon Knights, said, "Our strong preference is to focus on making games, not be in court. Unfortunately though, as explained in our lawsuit, we have had extensive problems with the Unreal Engine 3 that Epic has been unwilling or unable to rectify."
He continued, "For more than a year, we have been trying to reach an agreement with Epic to resolve these issues without resorting to litigation, but were unable to come to reasonable terms with Epic. Regrettably, we are now forced to go to court in order to achieve satisfaction. We remain hopeful, however, that we can reach a reasonable business resolution with Epic at some point."
Epic, while releasing details of the suit early to prevent speculation, has not commented since on the details or their position.
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