Magna Mundi Cancelled

[Sarmatian]

Ubik is dead now.

Prior to this, he had a legal chance, cause Pdox cancelled the game, demanded the IP and money back.

[Monk]

And there you have it folks. A version of Magna Mundi has been leaked. I just visited the Magna Mundi sub-forum to see a discussion on the said leak and on how unstable the build was.

So now according to TinCow, Paradox can press criminal charges against Ubik and win in court? Ooo. Now this should be a very good episode.

Oh boy... I seriously doubt Ubik has had anything to do with intentionally leaking MM. Because if he WAS that stupid and had an active hand in it.. this is just about the worst thing he could have done from a PR as well as a legal stand point. As Sarmatian says above me he's dead

[TinCow]

Now it gets fun.

[HopAlongBunny]

Now it gets fun.

And visions of bill-able hours danced in their heads...

[TinCow]

The way people are talking about the leaked version on the Paradox site makes me think Ubik had nothing to do with it. Specifically, it seems like the leak shows the state of MM in a really bad light, confirming all of the bugs and crashing issues that Paradox was talking about. In addition, there are comments in a readme that are kind of sarcastic and negative towards the game, which is not what one would expect from a Ubik release. In general, it looks like a leak from a beta tester, possibly to discredit Ubik further. It certainly puts Ubik at a further legal disadvantage because of the awkwardness of the timing of the leak, as well as the fact that it seems to confirm everything Paradox was saying, but I wouldn't guess it would result in any criminal charges against him. He's just going to get a short, sharp lesson in what it's like to be involved in a lawsuit that goes heavily against him.

[Voigtkampf]

To my knowledge, there can't be any criminal charges, only civil charges. Criminal charges are brought forward ex officio, while this will be a suit filed by Paradox as plaintiff, I guess.

[TinCow]

Based on the way Ubik was talking, I would expect that he would be the one filing the suit. The status quo appears to heavily favor Paradox, and they do not seem to have much to gain from suing Ubik. Blood from a stone and whatnot. Paradox might counterclaim for strategic purposes, but it doesn't really feel like they're the aggrieved party here. Ubik's lost his income, his game, his reputation, and most of his company. Mainly a question of how much he's going to wrack up in legal fees before he gives up the ghost.

[Voigtkampf]

Since Bethesda vs Interplay legal dispute, no verdict from US courts can surprise me anymore...

[Jolt]

Since Bethesda vs Interplay legal dispute, no verdict from US courts can surprise me anymore...

This isn't going to get decided in US courts anyway. It's either in Portuguese ones (Where UV is situated) or Swedish ones (Where Paradox is located).